\ 


LETTERS  FROM  A  LIAISON  OFFICER 


Jiers  jront  a 
ison  Ujjicer 

^erd-inanci  grazier  (hike 


^rriata[$  Tnnted 

<Me<MXIX 


D570 


Copyrighted  1919.  by 
Ferdinand  Frazier  Jelke 


TO  MY  MOTHER 

Whose  love,  complete  understanding, 
sympathetic  and  devoted  interest,  more 
than  all  other  factors  combined,  sustained 
and  encouraged  me  through  the  trying  and 
unfamiliar  demands  of  my  War-time  so- 
journ "Over  There,"  I  lovingly  dedicate 
this  little  volume  of  experiences. 

FERD. 

New  York, 
Nineteen  Hundred 
and  Nineteen. 


ivJ1..851,60 


FOREWORD 

It  goes  without  saying  that  the  letters 
here  gathered  were  not  written  with  any 
idea  of  being  permanently  preserved.  They 
were  merely  a  progressive  recital,  in  a  most 
informal  and  unstudied  vein,  of  circum- 
stances and  scenes  with  which  the  writer 
came  in  touch  in  the  course  of  his  work, 
•first  in  the  ranks  of  the  Marine  Corps,  and 
afterward  as  a  Lieutenant  of  Infantry  in 
the  Liaison  Service,  in  France. 

But  since  the  author's  return  from  ''Over 
There" — and  in  view  of  the  gigantic  scale 
of  World  War  and  the  epochal  character 
of  the  events  and  situations  touched  upon 
in  the  correspondence — members  of  his 
family  have  urged  that  the  series  of  letters 
written  from  the  scenes  of  his  activities 
during  iQiy-'ig,  be  made  into  a  handy 
volume  for  the  use  of  such  friends  as  may 
find  in  them  some  personal  appeal  and 
interest. 

In  preparing  the  letters  for  publication 
an  attempt  has  been  made  to  omit  the 
more  private  and  intimate  details,  while 
retaining  such  of  the  descriptive  text  as 
would  aid  the  reader  in  gaining  some  last- 
ing impressions  of  the  scenes  and  incidents 
which  rushed  by,  like  an  animated  pano- 


rama,  in  those  days  of  frenzied  endeavor 
and  kaleidoscopic  change,  beginning  shortly 
after  America's  entrance  into  the  war 
and  continuing  until  after  the  signing  of 
the  Armistice,  and  the  return  of  the  writer 
to  America,  early  in  1919. 

Nothing  has  been  added  to  the  original 
text,  except  names  of  places  and  certain 
military  data  which  could  not  be  included 
at  the  time,  though  much  has  been  elim- 
inated. It  has  been  the  purpose  to  pre- 
serve only  so  much  detail  as  would  be 
essential  to  a  proper  understanding  of  the 
situations  described,  and  there  is,  of  course, 
absolutely  no  attempt  at  literary  style  or 
impressive  presentation. 

F.  F.  J. 
May, 

Nineteen  Hundred 
and  Nineteen. 


'^hdu^a^c/  diyfcC^ 


MILITARY  RECORD 

Ferdinand  F.  Jelke 

Enlisted,  5th  Regiment  (Base  Battalion) 
U.  S.  Marine  Corps,  July  14,  1917,  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 

Sailed  for  France  on  U.  S.  S.  Henderson, 
August  3,  1917,  acting  as  interpreter. 

Promoted  August  17,  191 7,  to  Corporal, 
U.  S.  Marine  Corps. 

Attached  to  War  Risk  Bureau  (Paris), 
November  4,  1917. 

Attached  to  Chief  Liaison  Officer  (Paris), 
February  12,  1918. 

Commissioned  Second  Lieutenant,  U.  S. 
Infantry,  March  17,  1918. 

Attached  to  staff  of  Commanding  Gen- 
eral, Fifth  French  Army  Corps,  as  Liaison 
Officer,  April  27,  1918,  in  which  capacity  I 
served  until  after  the  signing  of  the  armis- 
tice, December  12,  1918. 

Landed  at  New  York,  U.  S.  S.  Sierra, 
March  6,  1919. 

Discharged  from  service  March  8,  1919, 
at  Camp  Dix,  N.  J. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


U.  S.  S.  Henderson 

At  Sea,  August  igth,  1917. 

HIS  is  another  tranquil  August 
day,  when  nature  seems  to  be  at 
peace  with  the  entire  world. 
The  trip  has  been  uneventful, 
with  the  exception  of  hard  work,  drilling, 
holystoning  the  decks  and  long  hours  for  the 
men — really  a  fine  lot  who  enlisted  for 
patriotic  reasons  last  April.  They  are 
from  small  towns  and  farms  in  almost  every 
state  in  the  Union — one  hundred  and  fifty 
from  the  University  of  Minnesota,  all  in 
one  company.  It  was  said  at  the  Phila- 
delphia Navy  Yard  that  this  is  the  best 
bunch  of  recruits  that  has  gone  to  France. 
For  three  days  we  have  been  in  the  War 
Zone,  but  no  one  is  worried,  and  gives  it 
little  serious  thought.  Every  known  pre- 
caution is  taken,  dozens  of  men  on  the 
superstructure  constantly  are  on  watch  with 
field  glasses.  The  gun  crews  for  the  six- 
inch  guns  are  on  duty  day  and  night,  re- 
lieved every  four  hours.  Fire  and  emer- 
gency drills  are  held  daily,  frequently  during 
the  night. 

As  we  came  in  sight  of  land,  early  this 
morning,  the  bugle  sounded  General  Quar- 


15 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


At  Sea, 

Aug.  iQth, 

i()i7. 


ters,  and  every  one  rushed  to  their  stations 
at  double-quick.  The  convoy  spread  out, 
commenced  maneuvering  and  circling,  and 
the  guns  started  booming  at  objects  be- 
tween the  ships;  aeroplanes  circled  overhead 
like  birds,  dropping  high  explosive  bombs. 
We  were  in  the  midst  of  a  flotilla  of  sub- 
marines, our  first  engagement  with  the 
enemy.  As  the  cannons  roared  and  belched, 
the  ship  quivered  so  violently  fourteen 
windows  in  the  officers'  mess  were  broken. 
One  submarine  was  sunk. 

Lots  of  love,  from 

FERD. 


16 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Bordeaux,  France,  Sept.  20th,  1917. 


HAVE  an  opportunity  this  morn- 
ing to  drop  you  a  few  lines,  good 
paper  with  American  pen  and 
ink,  which  is  quite  a  treat. 
Until  within  the  past  week  I  have  been 
living  under  such  rough  conditions,  on 
shipboard  and  in  camp,  the  life  of  an 
enlisted  man,  there  has  been  little  oppor- 
tunity to  write,  except  to  scratch  a  few 
lines  home. 

Colonel  Bearss  has  been  put  in  com- 
mand of  the  largest  receiving  port  in 
France  where  the  greater  part  of  the  new 
National  Army  will  be  landed,  and  the 
work  of  preparing  to  handle  them  is  most 
interesting.  There  is  already  a  large  re- 
ceiving camp  at  Souges  and  it  is  to  be  en- 
larged to  accommodate  forty  thousand. 
There  are  to  be  over  five  hundred  thousand 
men,  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
animals,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  tons 
of  freight  landed  here.*  There  are  to  be 
miles  of  railroads,  warehouses  and  docks 
built. 

We  landed  a  month  ago  at  St.  Nazaire, 
where  about  one-fourth  of  the  American 

*Estimated  to  be  half  of  the  proposed  American  Army. 


17 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Bordeaux,  France, 

Sept.  20th, 

1917. 


Army  is  to  be  handled.  About  ten  days 
ago  Colonel  Bearss,  with  a  staff  of  six  offi- 
cers, three  interpreters  (LeGendre,Auguste 
Ferrier  of  New  Orleans,  and  myself)  mo- 
tored down  from  St.  Nazaire  to  take  charge 
of  Base  Section  No.  2.  We  have  requisi- 
tioned a  large  four-story  office  building  and 
there  are  to  be,  in  all,  about  eighty  officers* 
and  two  to  three  hundred  clerks. 

It  is  the  opportunity  of  our  lives  to  wit- 
ness and  be  part  of  the  advance  of  a  great 
army.  Our  services  as  interpreters  have 
really  been  valuable.  This  is  most  inter- 
esting work,  as  it  brings  us  in  contact  with 
the  highest  staff  officers.  As  you  know, 
Colonel  Bearss  is  a  field  man,  and  has  a 
long  fighting  record  in  the  tropics,  including 
Santo  Domingo  and  the  Philippines. 

None  of  the  American  troops  are  to  do 
any  fighting  before  spring.  They  are  to 
be  sent  to  training  camps  behind  the  lines 
as  fast  as  they  arrive,  and  the  work  con- 
sists largely  of  bomb  throwing,  bayonet 
exercises,  machine  gun  operation  and  ath- 
letics to  harden  them.  The  infantry  fight- 
ing is  all  done  with  machine  guns,  bayonets 
and  bombs.  One  hundred  and  eighty-seven 
troops  of  our  Fifth  Regiment  were  killed 
and  wounded  recently  in  their  camps  at 
the  front  by  German  aeroplane  bombs. 

*There  are  now  five  times  this  number. 


18 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


The  French  rarely  discuss  the  possibilities 
of  the  termination  of  the  war,  as  they  have 
lost  hope  of  it  ever  ending  and  just  grimly 
keep  on  fighting.  The  press  is  silent  on  the 
subject.  The  United  States  is  taking  over 
a  large  part  of  France  and  is  expected  to  be 
her  savior.  The  general  feeling  among  our 
officers  is  that  the  war  is  to  last  at  least  one 
or  even  two  years  longer. 

Our  letters  are  censored  by  our  own 
officers,  and  are  again  subject  to  examina- 
tion by  the  Base  Censor  at  Paris. 

Affectionately, 

FERD. 


Bordeaux,  France, 
Sept.  20th, 
1917. 


19 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Bordeaux,  France,  Oct.  26th,  ipiy. 

^AR  makes  one  a  fatalist  in  a 
short  time,  for  they  have  Httle 
control  over  their  destinies,  and 
are  tossed  about  "as  jetsam 
on  the  waves  of  time." 

The  Antilles,  one  of  the  five  ships  in  our 
convoy,  was  sunk  on  her  second  return  voy- 
age to  America.  The  Saxonia,  another,  has 
also  been  sunk  on  a  return  trip.* 

I  have  had  several  very  interesting  days 
this  week,  in  spite  of  almost  incessant  rain. 
I  was  detailed  to  conduct  the  Paris  New 
York  Herald  correspondent,  Cleveland  Cox, 
on  a  two  days'  tour  of  inspection  of  the 
camps  and  engineer  works  of  this  Base 
Section  No.  2,  and  secured  interviews  for 
him  with  the  various  Colonels  commanding 
Departments,  and  many  others. 

The  whole  trip  was  most  instructive  and 
interesting.  Cox  had  just  returned  from 
the  front  where  our  men  are  in  training  in 
the  Vosges.  This  is  a  most  poverty-stricken 
part  of  France,  while  at  the  same  time  the 
quietest,  and  the  men  are  quartered  in  cow- 
sheds, pig-pens  and  peasant  huts,  and  the 
mud  and  dirt  is  deep  and  the  odors  most 

*This  was  at  a  period  when  the  submarine  menace  was  at  its 
worst. 


20 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


offensive.  So  near  the  lines  they  can't  live 
in  barracks  or  tents. 

I  am  astonished  to  read  in  the  American 
press  that  the  Germans  are  practically  on 
their  knees,  begging  peace.  The  fact  is, 
the  subject  is  rarely  mentioned  in  the 
French  papers,  and  then  only  vaguely. 
Cox  said  the  middle  classes  want  peace  at 
any  price,  and  if  they  had  their  choice 
would  not  fight  for  another  year,  even  to 
secure  victory  with  our  help. 

He  said  recently,  when  some  German 
prisoners  were  taken  and  their  officers  told 
that  Americans  were  here,  they  laughed, 
thinking  it  a  lie.  When  shown  the  Amer- 
icans, they  evidenced  the  greatest  concern, 
and  said,  **Well,  we  have  been  deceived." 

Yesterday  we  took  a  wandering  Ameri- 
can, wearing  a  soldier's  uniform,  who  is  to 
be  court-martialed  as  a  spy.  He  had  ten 
thousand  francs  sewed  up  in  the  lining  of 
his  coat. 

It  is  fine  to  receive  such  letters  and  to 
know  the  folks  at  home  appreciate  us  and 
give  us  a  little  blarney.  It  warms  the 
cockles  of  the  heart,  for  it  is  all  so  sordid 
over  here. 

With  lots  of  love  to  you  all,  from 

FERD. 


Bordeaux,  France, 

Oct.  26th, 

1917. 


21 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Tours,  France,  Nov.  jd,  igiy. 

EFORE  leaving  Bordeaux,  I  had 
charge  of  the  polls  and  held 
the  New  York  State  election. 
Well,  the  life  of  a  marine  is 
filled  with  excitement.  Last  night  Hennen 
Le  Gendre  and  I  narrowly  escaped  being 
killed  in  an  automobile  accident.  I  had 
been  ordered  to  Paris  to  help  in  organizing 
the  War  Risk  Bureau.  We  did  not  "push 
off"  from  Bordeaux  in  the  Packard  until 
noon  Saturday  and  were  ordered  to  report 
in  Paris  Sunday,  four  hundred  miles.  We 
had  no  time  to  change  the  oil  in  the  motor 
for  the  trip,  and  the  car  was  heating  and 
making  poor  time ;  so  after  lunch  we  stopped 
and  washed  out  the  motor  with  kerosene 
and  put  in  fresh  oil. 

Hennen  was  driving  and  we  were  trying 
to  reach  Tours,  halfway,  to  spend  the  night. 
The  motor  ran  smoothly  like  a  watch,  and 
we  had  just  finished  one  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-five miles  in  three  and  one-half  hours, 
through  towns  and  all. 

It  was  already  dark,  and  the  headlights 
had  dimmers,  but  the  road  was  perfect.  I 
had  just  looked  at  the  speedometer  and  it 
registered  forty-five  miles.  The  next  in- 
stant the  road  took  a  sudden  turn  under  a 


22 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


railroad  bridge;  there  was  a  terrific  crash, 
and  the  car  rolled  over,  apparently  crushed 
and  a  total  wreck.  It  had  struck  the 
rock  curbing  at  the  side  of  the  country 
road  and  capsized,  crushing  top,  fenders, 
running  board,  left  front  wheel,  and  wind- 
shield into  a  thousand  pieces.  It  was  a 
miracle  that  we  were  not  killed,  and  the 
only  thing  that  saved  our  lives  was  that 
the  car  was  of  such  substantial  construc- 
tion. A  lighter  one  would  have  crumpled 
like  cardboard  and  have  rolled  over  and 
crushed  us.  The  steel  fenders  which  struck 
the  soft,  wet  earth  were  completely  crushed. 
The  impact  was  terrific,  but  so  sudden  we 
hadn't  time  to  see  it  coming.  I  was  thrown 
over  Hennen  and  lit  on  my  feet  and  thought 
at  first  his  legs  were  pinned  under  the  car. 
Hennen  walked  to  the  next  town  and  asked 
help,  but  everyone  was  in  bed  (at  eight 
o'clock),  and  flatly  refused.  Finally  three 
teamsters  with  their  large,  lumbering  carts 
passed  and  helped  lift  the  car.  The  left 
front  wheel  would  still  turn,  and  after 
refilling  her  with  oil  and  gasoline  (of  which 
we  had  an  extra  supply  in  the  tonneau)  and 
water,  all  of  which  had  run  out,  we  started 
again  for  Tours.  We  limped  in,  in  a  badly 
crippled  condition  after  one  a.  m.  and  found 
caressing  beds  with  clean  sheets. 


Tuurs,  France, 
Nov.  3d, 


23 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Tours,  France, 

Nov.  3d, 

1917. 


Upon  remarking  the  unusual  number  of 
cripples  hobbling  about  the  streets  on 
crutches,  we  were  informed  that  a  large 
amputation  hospital  is  situated  here. 

This  is  the  first  touch  of  la  belle  France 
in  eleven  weeks,  and  it  is  the  first  time  the 
people  in  the  streets  have  been  friendly,  or 
the  hotel  employees  respectful  and  polite, 
or  that  we  have  slept  in  good  beds.  The 
Americans  are  not  too  cordially  welcomed, 
as  it  is  thought  we  will  prolong  the  war 
without  making  any  material  difference  in 
the  result. 

Tours,  you  know,  is  in  the  heart  of 
Touraine,  the  beautiful  and  far-famed  Cha- 
teau district,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
southwest  of  Paris,  so  much  visited  by 
tourists.  It  is  a  refined  and  beautiful 
residential  city,  with  fine  buildings,  miles  of 
old  shade  trees,  and  beautiful  perspectives. 

Your  devoted  son, 

FERD. 


This  condition  changed  in  the  summer  of  1918. 


24 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France,  Nov.  i6th,  IQ17. 

US  telephoned  several  days  ago 
that  there  was  a  whole  wagon- 
load  of  mail  for  me  at  Head- 
quarters, including  your  love 
letters,  all  of  which  I  was  delighted  to  re- 
ceive and  am  still  in  the  process  of  digesting. 
We  finished  our  motor  trip  from  Tours 
without  further  mishap — arriving  at  Paris, 
after  a  400-mile  trip,  Tuesday  evening  in  a 
pouring  rain  and  looking  like  two  soldiers 
direct  from  the  trenches,  with  our  "packs." 
I  am  glad  to  say  that  the  Ritz  received 
us  with  open  arms  and  the  greatest  courtesy 
in  spite  of  our  appearance,  which  was  an 
unusual  experience,  after  three  months  of 
incivility  and  condescension  by  the  ignorant 
people  of  the  Midi. 

We  were  flabbergasted  to  find  Paris  just 
as  gay  as  ever,  only  more  so,  on  the  surface ; 
with  the  exception  of  the  night  life — all 
of  the  restaurants  close  promptly  at  9:30 
and  every  one  quietly  goes  home  with  no 
arguments  about  serving  "just  one  more 
drink."  The  theaters  are  all  open.  I  had 
expected  to  see  a  martial  spirit  with  war- 
stained  detachments  of  troops  passing 
through  the  streets  with  trucks,  cannons,  and 
torn  flags,  drums  and  bugles.    The  stenog- 


25 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France, 

Nov.  i6th, 

1917. 


rapher  says  it  was  that  way  in  the  begin- 
ning, at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  the  Marne, 
and  that  it  was  awful  when  the  Germans 
were  so  near  Paris  and  the  Government 
was  moved  to  Bordeaux  for  two  months. 
.  They  could  hear  the  roar  of  cannon.  The 
papers,  at  that  time,  referred  to  the  sal- 
vation of  Paris  at  the  Marne  as  a  "miracle." 

Everyone  on  the  streets  looks  healthy, 
pleasant,  gay  and  well  dressed,  not  all  in 
mourning  as  at  Bordeaux.  However,  when 
one  enters  French  homes,  they  find  hearts 
torn  with  sorrow,  mourning  over  their  lost 
ones.    These  people  are  really  Spartans. 

In  spite  of  the  high  price  and  scarcity  of 
gasoline,  the  Government  allows  taxi-cabs 
a  limited  quantity,  so  this  means  of  con- 
veyance is  not  extinct;  except  on  rainy  days 
and  late  at  night  when  it  is  utterly  impos- 
sible to  get  one.  The  rates  seem  little 
higher  than  usual. 

We  dined  at  Henri's  and  had  a  devil  of 
a  time  getting  home  afterwards,  at  ten 
o'clock,  and  finally  succeeded  in  recruiting 
an  old  man  with  a  horse-cab  to  drive  us  up 
to  the  Bois  de  Boulogne. 

There  is  so  much  to  write  about  and  my 
mind  is  in  such  a  whirl,  and  I  am  always 
in  such  a  hurry,  I  forget  to  say  the  principal 
things  I  started  to  write.  It  is  so  tedious 
and   diflicult  dictating  to   French   stenog- 


26 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


raphers  as  almost  every  word  must  be 
spelled,  and  it  takes  too  much  time  to 
write  long-hand. 

You  all  are  hardly  ever  entirely  off  my 
mind,  and  my  one  ambition  is  to  make  you 
proud  of  me;  our  constant  interest  is  *'to 
please  the  folks  at  home."  There  is  no 
one  among  ourselves  we  care  about  im- 
pressing. 

We  are  enjoying  immensely  our  respite 
of  luxury,  if  not  of  ease,  and  Gus  and  I 
are  thinking  of  writing  a  book  entitled 
"From  the  Clay  Hills  of  Quantico*  to  the 
Paved  Streets  of  Paris." 

Lovingly, 

FERD. 


*One  of  the  three  Marine  Corps  Training  Camps  is  at  Quantico, 
Virginia. 


Paris,  France, 
Nov.  i6th, 
IQ17. 


27 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France,  Dec.  ^d,  iQiy. 

HAVE  just  had  a  totally  new 
viewpoint  on  the  prospects  of 
peace  in  conversing  with  the 
Vicomtesse  de  Rancongne,  who, 
you  know,  is  my  old  friend  Giselle  Bunau- 
Varilla,  daughter  of  the  Panama  engineer 
and  owner  of  the  ''Matin, "  Philip  Bunau- 
Varilla.  She  is  a  brilliant,  patriotic  young 
woman,  thoroly  posted  on  the  war 
and  French  politics,  and  her  views  natur- 
ally reflect  those  of  her  father  and  the 
inner  circle  of  the  French  Government. 
Instead  of  expressing  regret  at  the  turn  of 
affairs  in  Russia  and  their  making  a  separate 
move  for  peace,  she  showed  satisfaction, 
saying  that  it  would  "break  the  ice,"  to  use 
her  own  words,  and  the  move  she  thought 
would  be  contagious.  There  is  a  deep  and 
longing  desire  in  the  hearts  of  all  fighting 
men  on  both  sides  for  peace  and  for  the 
carnage  to  stop.  This  is  not  limited  to  any 
set  of  men  or  women,  but  is  universal  among 
all  nationalities  in  the  trenches,  who  want 
to  return  to  their  homes  and  peaceful  pur- 
suits. She  says  she  knows  on  the  highest 
authority  that  the  Kaiser  and  the  men 
around  him  are  sincerely  willing  and  want 
peace  at  any  price;    but  they  have  in  the 


28 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


past  so  thoroughly  sowed  the  doctrine  of 
Pan-Germanism  and  "Deutschland  ueber 
Alles,"  and  have  so  completely  led  the 
people  to  believe  they  were  going  to  have 
a  victorious  peace,  they  cannot  now  con- 
vince them  that  Germany  is  facing  a  crush- 
ing defeat.  With  the  German  Army  hold- 
ing so  much  foreign  territory,  the  *Tan- 
Germanists"  refuse  to  consent  to  "peace  at 
any  price."  There  is  a  great  wave  of  the 
brotherhood -love -of -man  kind  passing 
through  the  armies  of  Europe,  and  she 
believes  that  all  that  is  needed  is  the  pres- 
ent move  for  peace  in  Russia  to  fan  it  into 
flame.  There  is  a  general  feeling  of  the 
futility  of  continuing  this  awful  carnage  of 
human  lives.  Instead  of  condemning  the 
Russians,  she  says  they  are  showing  great 
hardihood  in  making  a  move  that  all  na- 
tions wish  to  make,  but  do  not  dare,  for 
fear  of  not  "saving  their  faces." 

This  is  to  me  an  entirely  new  angle  on 
the  situation,  and  coming  so  frankly  from 
this  source  illustrates  what  the  Government 
and  people  are  striving  for,  but  have  not 
yet  been  able  to  attain. 

Last  Sunday,  we  called  on  the  Vicom- 
tesse's  father,  in  their  magnificent  big  old 
house  in  the  Avenue  d'lena,  and  had  a 
delightful  visit.  We  felt  instinctively  that 
we  were  in  the  presence  of  one  of  the  great 


29 


Paris,  France, 
Dec.  3d, 
J917. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France, 

Dec.  3d, 

1917. 


men  of  France.  The  house  was  just  the 
same  as  of  old,  but  a  Httle  dingy  and  the 
walls  in  need  of  cleaning,  showing  the  occu- 
pants had  had  little  time  or  inclination  for 
such  things  during  the  past  three  years. 
Colonel  Bunau-Varilla,  the  great  French 
engineer,  was  just  home  from  the  hospital 
where  he  had  laid  in  a  mangled  condition  for 
three  months.  One  leg  and  part  of  his  side 
were  shot  away  by  ah  exploding  shrapnel 
shell.  He  was  in  high  spirits  and  gay,  be- 
cause Etienne,  his  son,  who  had  been  a 
prisoner  since  the  first  nine  months  of  the 
war,  was  returning  the  next  day.  The  boy, 
whom  I  had  motored  with  and  chummed 
with  the  entire  summer  of  1912,  at  Dinard, 
had  won  the  Croix  de  Guerre  three  times 
(two  palms)  in  the  first  nine  months  of  the 
war,  before  his  capture.  When  captured 
he  was  leading,  as  flight  commander,  a  flight 
of  aeroplanes  making  a  raid  on  a  German 
camp.  He  was  for  five  months  in  solitary 
confinement  in  a  German  prison,  the  first 
month  of  which  he  was  not  permitted  to 
even  work.  After  that  he  was  allowed  to 
sew  "trench-backs"  for  ten  hours  per  day. 
He  was  moved  from  camp  to  camp  and 
suffered  the  most  frightful  starvation  and 
hardships.  The  "Matin"  has  been  very 
anti-German  for  twenty-five  years  past, 
and  this  was  their  means  of  revenge.     They 


30 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


did  likewise  with  the  sons  of  other  promi- 
nent Frenchmen  as  reprisals.  At  one  time 
when  the  French  were  making  raids  on  a 
German  ammunition  plant  the  Germans 
placed  sixty  of  these  young  men  in  a  house 
nearby  and  left  a  light  burning  in  it  each 
night  to  attract  the  bombing  attacks.  It 
was  the  only  light  in  the  neighborhood. 

Finally,  in  an  almost  dying  condition, 
through  the  intercession  of  the  King  of 
Spain,  he  was  sent  to  Switzerland.  After 
six  months  the  doctors  there  have  per- 
mitted him  to  return  home,  with  the  under- 
standing with  the  French  Government  that 
he  must  return  to  Germany  after  the  war 
to  be  tried  by  court  martial  for  some  trivial 
offense  for  which  the  sentence  is  ten  years 
in  prison. 

The  Vicomtesse's  young  husband  of  less 
than  a  year  was  also  captured  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war,  when  a  handful  of  one 
thousand  French  cavalry  held  Lille  against 
ten  thousand  Germans  for  three  days.  This 
blocked  their  advance  on  Calais,  and  gave 
the  French  time  to  send  up  more  troops  to 
cut  the  Germans  off  from  ever  reaching 
Calais. 

Giselle,  herself  really  only  a  girl  of  twenty- 
five,  with  two  other  young  women  organ- 
ized the  "Appui  des  Beiges"  (Help  for 
Belgian  Soldiers)  at  the  beginning  of  the 


31 


Paris,  France, 
Dec.  3d, 
1917. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France, 

Dec.  3d, 

1917- 


war,  and  now  have  an  institution  which 
takes  care  of  a  German  prison  camp  of  over 
five  thousand  Belgian  soldiers,  sending  to 
each,  by  post,  a  weekly  package  of  food  in- 
dividually addressed,  and  spends  over  eight 
thousand  dollars  per  month,  most  of  which 
is  contributed  by  the  French  Government. 

Etienne's  cousin  Jean,  who  was  such  a 
good  friend,  whom  Jack  and  I  met  crossing 
to  China,  is  broken  in  health  and  has  been 
sent  back  to  civil  life  as  a  reforme,  and  is 
living  in  retirement  with  his  v.ife  and  two 
children  at  St.  Cloud. 

This  letter  as  I  read  it  sounds  sad,  but 
there  is  nothing  unusual  about  it,  simply 
an  every-day  account  of  one  prominent 
French  family  torn  by  the  war.  Is  there 
any  wonder  these  people  welcome  the  pros- 
pect of  peace,  the  demand  for  which  will 
some  day  sweep  over  Europe  like  an  electric 
spark? 

Devotedly, 

FERD. 


32 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


mind 


Paris,  France,  Dec.  22nd,  iQiy. 

HE  time  is  flying  by  so  rapidly 

and   we  are   so   extremely  busy 

it  is  almost  impossible  to  write, 

although   I  am   writing   you    in 

every    day.     Occasionally    when    I 


leave  the  ofllice  and  do  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  dictate  a  few  lines  to  a  public 
stenographer,  I  am  in  too  great  a  hurry 
to  collect  my  thoughts. 

The  spirit  of  military  men  is  "to  eat, 
drink  and  be  gay  for  to-morrow  we  may 
die"  and  the  result  is  that  they  all  live^'as 
well  as  possible  on  meager  means.  Life  in 
camp  and  in  the  trenches  is  so  severe  that 
every  one  lives  as  comfortably  as  possible 
when  they  get  the  opportunity.  The  re- 
sult is  that  Gus  and  I  have  taken  a 
beautifully  furnished  apartment  "near  the 
Bois  de  Boulogne,  expecting  to  spend  the 
winter  here.  It  vv^as  comical  to  see  us  mov- 
ing in  our  worn  uniforms  and  rough  camp 
equipment  with  blanket  rolls  and  sea-bags; 
we  felt  like  a  couple  of  tramps  in  an 
Aladdin's  Dream. 

We  frequently  have  ofl^cers  up  to  dinner, 
our  only  diversion,  as  we  never  go  to  the 
theater. 


33 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France, 

Dec.  22nd, 

J917. 


While  it  is  unknown  to  the  average  Amer- 
ican, the  situation  is  looked  upon  by  the 
French  authorities  as  serious,  as  it  is 
estimated  that  the  number  of  men  that  we 
are  figuring  on  sending  over  by  Spring  will 
not  be  enough  to  offset  the  German  soldiers 
released  on  the  Russian  front — France  was 
in  a  better  position  in  191 5  than  at  the 
present  day,  when  Germany  has  since 
conquered  Russia  and  Italy. 

Germany  is  preparing  on  a  large  scale 
to  make  air  raids  on  Paris  before  Spring 
and  it  is  expected  that  we  will  get  a  taste 
of  war  here. 

Love  from  your  devoted  son, 

FERD. 


34 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France,  Dec.  26th,  igiy. 

I^ELL,  this  is  the  day  after  Christ- 
^  mas,  which  was  passed  really 
■A.^  pleasantly  under  the  circum- 
stances. The  festivities  com- 
menced with  dinner  Christmas  Eve  at 
Harriet  and  Florence  Burton's  apartment 
and  ended  at  midnight  last  night  at  ours. 

They  gave  a  charming  dinner  and  had  a 
small  tree.  The  guests  included  a  Colonel 
Riley,  Lisa  Stillman,  Baroness  Maxwell  de 
Wardener,  Gus,  myself  and  several  others. 

We  went  over  again  for  Christmas  dinner 
when  they  had  Colonel  McCrae,  former 
Vice-President  of  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road, Mimi  Scott,  besides  several  more. 
In  the  afternoon  we  went  for  a  long  motor 
drive  in  the  Bois,  and  in  the  evening  the 
girls  went  down  to  the  Soldiers'  and  Sailors' 
Club,  where  they  assisted  with  giving  out 
the  presents. 

Am  enclosing  a  clipping  about  the  Secours 
Duryea  which  you  see  Florence  Burton 
was  Secretary  of  and  one  of  the  prime 
movers.  She  is  a  close  friend  of  Col.  and 
Mrs.  House  with  whom  she  was  constantly 
when  last  in  Paris  several  weeks  ago.  I 
am  also  enclosing  a  clipping  in  regard  to 


35 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France, 

Dec.  26th, 

igjj. 


"embalmed  beef"  from  which  we  suffered 
when  crossing  the  ocean. 

There  is  so  Httle  heat  and  the  houses 
are  so  cold  that  we  have  to  dress  indoors 
as  if  we  were  out-of-doors.  Coal  is  fifty 
dollars  per  ton  and  can  only  be  secured  in 
limited  small  quantities  by  the  use  of  coal 
cards,  as  is  also  the  case  with  wood,  sugar, 
bread,  gasoline,  and  milk.  However,  we 
don't  buy  or  use  any  milk,  leaving  it  for 
the  sick  and  babies.  We  have  gas  in  our 
kitchen,  but  only  a  limited  amount  is  per- 
mitted to  be  used.  By  paying  the  price  one 
can  have  plenty  of  everything  good  to  eat, 
for  the  French  certainly  know  how  to 
cook.  The  one  thing  that  a  soldier  thinks 
about  is  his  stomach  for  the  life  makes 
him  ravenously  hungry  and  he  rarely  has 
enough.* 

Your  devoted  brother, 

FERD. 


*0f  what  he  wants. 


36 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France,  Jan.  2 1st,  igi8. 

UST  a  few  lines  this  eve,  to  let 
you  know  I  am  well  and  happy 
and  working  very  hard,  but  too 
tired  to  write  much.  I  never 
have  an  opportunity  to  dictate  letters 
any  more,  as  we  are  working  in  and  around 
Paris,  writing  insurance  for  the  soldiers  and 
trying  to  get  it  all  in  by  February  12th,  the 
last  day.  We  are  working  in  the  hospitals 
at  present  and  it  is  all  very  interesting.  I 
am  directly  under  and  working  with  Cap- 
tain Willard  Mack  of  Cincinnati,  who  is 
charming.  We  have  been  all  day  at  Dr. 
Blake's  hospital.  It  is  one  of  the  best,  and 
he  is  a  kindly,  elderly  man  with  white  hair, 
looking  sixty-five,  but  they  say  fifty-five. 
He  is  considered  one  of  the  foremost 
surgeons  of  France  to-day,  especially  on 
fractures  and  difficult  grafting.  He  has  the 
rank  of  Major,  as  all  American  Red  Cross 
hospitals  have  been  taken  over  by  the 
Army.  Preparations  for  American  hospi- 
tals are  being  made  all  over  France  on  a 
staggering  scale. 

We  had  cold  weather  here  from  about 
December  15th  to  January  15th,  and 
chilblains  are  frequent,   but  for  the  past 


37 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France, 

Jan.  2ist, 

1918. 


week  it  has  been  warm  and  spring-like. 
Deaths  from  pneumonia  have  occurred  by 
dozens  daily. 

The  following  amusing  copy  of  a  letter 
giving  an  enlisted  man's  honest  impressions 
upon  reaching  the  front  for  the  first  time 
in  winter,  was  received  from  a  friend  who 
later  was  awarded  the  Distinguished  Serv- 
ice Cross,  for  bravery  in  action. 

'This  is  a  hell  of  a  hole — mud  up  to 
my  ears — snow — slush — men  sleeping  in 
stables — cow  sheds,  pig  sties — no  oil  for 
lights — no  wood  for  fires.  Hell  itself  let 
loose.  We  can  hear  the  damn  guns  on  the 
front  all  day  and  night — like  distant  thun- 
der. 

''Companies  are  now  250  men — every- 
body has  a  helmet,  gas  mask,  etc.,  on  ac- 
count of  bombs — gas  bombs,  etc. 

"We  expect  to  occupy  the  trenches  in 
the  ...  in  about  three*  weeks.  I 
kiss  you  lovingly  good-bye. 

"Fell  in  a  mud-hole  to-night  and  had 
to  be  dug  out  so  am  feeling  in  no  cheerful 
state  of  mind.  Enjoy  reading  Town  Topics 
and  Country  Life.  Don't  believe  any  such 
country  as  America  exists — Long  Island 
and  New  York  must  be  fables. 

"My  address  is     .     .     . 

"Was  very  glad  to  see  you  and  Gus  in 
Paris. 


38 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


"This  will  be  mailed  by  a  guy  who  is 
going  to  Paris  to-morrow  morning. 

"Best  to  you  and  Gus." 

While  Channon's  newspaper  letter  is 
cleverly  and  charmingly  written,  mothers 
and  daughters  are  not  flitting  about  Paris 
on  the  arms  of  their  sons  and  brothers.  He 
has  let  his  imagination  run  away  with  him 
in  order  to  write  an  airy  and  amusing 
account  of  something  that  is  quite  the 
opposite. 

Affectionately, 

FERD. 


Paris,  France, 
Jan.  2ist, 
1918. 


39 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France,  Feb.  I2th,  iqi8. 

^OU  will  remember  I  wrote  you 
two  months  ago  of  the  contem- 
plated air  raids  on  Paris  by  the 
Germans  with  air-planes  of  fan- 
tastic size.  Last  week  they  made  the  first 
of  the  long  privately  expected  attacks.  The 
sirens  made  a  devil  of  a  row  at  ii  130 — like 
on  an  old-fashioned  New  Year's  Eve  at  home. 
I  laid  on  my  bed  and  waited  for  the  explo- 
sions as  the  sirens  passed  the  house  on  fast 
motors  to  awake  people  to  seek  shelter  in 
cellars.  Finally  I  got  up  and  went  on  the 
balcony.  The  hand  of  death  and  destruction 
hovered  over  the  sleeping  city,  nobody  know- 
ing where  it  would  strike  nor  where  the 
bombs  would  fall.  One  by  one  the  few  re- 
maining lights  in  the  neighboring  houses  dis- 
appeared and  all  was  shrouded  in  darkness 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  stars  and  a  pale 
moon.  The  deep  intonations  of  falling  bombs 
and  cannons  were  intermingled.  I  counted 
fifty  explosions  in  a  space  of  about  twenty 
minutes.  I  dropped  to  sleep  again  at  mid- 
night and  at  2:30  was  awakened  by  bre- 
loques  and  bugles — indicating  ''all's  quiet." 
One  bomb  dropped  around  the  corner  from 
Dr.  Blake's  hospital,  which  is  located  about 
a    block    from    our    apartment.     Another 


40 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


destroyed  the  upper  stories  and  blew  out 
the  front  of  a  heavy  stone  building  nearby, 
in  the  Avenue  des  Grandes  Armees. 

A  French  air-plane  was  brought  down  on 
the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  the  aviator  hav- 
ing been  shot  through  the  head  and,  the 
mechanician  attempting  to  land,  the  ma- 
chine caught  on  one  of  the  lamp-posts  in 
the  dark  and  he  was  severely  injured. 
Another  bomb  fell  within  a  block  and  a 
half  of  our  office,  at  the  Metro  Station 
Quatre  Septembre.  All  the  windows 
within  a  block  were  blown  out,  and  within 
the  immediate  vicinity  the  window  sashes 
were  empty  of  glass.  At  least  a  dozen 
bombs  did  serious  damage  in  various  parts 
of  the  city.  The  streets  in  the  Latin 
Quarter  were  covered  with  blood  and 
strewn  with  dead. 

You  will  see  from  this  description  that  it 
was  really  a  serious  attack,  and  it  is  just  a 
matter  of  luck  whether  a  bomb  falls  on  the 
house  where  one  is  living.  Our  apartment 
is  on  the  sixth,  or  top  floor.  Protecting  walls 
are  being  rapidly  built  around  the  monu- 
ments on  the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  the 
Opera,  the  Arc  de  Triomphe,  and  Place 
Vendome. 

I  have  not  had  an  opportunity  to  write 
you  in  detail  regarding  the  Russian  Revo- 
lution which,  I  was  informed  some  time  ago 


41 


Paris,  France, 
Feb.  I2th, 
J918. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Parts,  France, 

Feb.  I2th, 

IQl8. 


by  the  Vicomtesse  de  Rancongne,  is  ex- 
tremely serious — far  more  so  than  the 
French  Revolution — on  a  larger  scale,  as  it 
involves  the  whole  country,  which  is  in 
chaos  and  ruled  by  the  mob.  There  were 
really  leaders  of  ability  in  the  French  Revo- 
lution and  most  executions  were  by  trials 
which  were  conducted  in  a  comparatively 
orderly  manner.  However,  such  is  not  the 
case  in  Russia,  for  twenty  thousand  have 
been  murdered  in  Petrograd*  and  Moscow 
alone.  There  the  banks  have  been  looted 
and  the  neighbors  take  turns  at  standing 
guard  all  night  over  their  homes.  At  no 
time  during  the  French  Revolution  was 
money  stolen  from  the  banks. 

The  Vicomtesse  has  a  cousin  married  to  a 
Russian.  They  are  refugees,  financially 
ruined,  and  cannot  go  back.  This  is  only 
one  case  of  many  thousands.  Representa- 
tives of  the  Kerensky  Government  are 
stranded  in  Paris  without  suflicient  means 
to  live  and  with  no  way  of  receiving  money 
from  Russia,  particularly  as  their  proper- 
ties have  been  looted  by  the  mobs.  The 
Revolution,  under  Kerensky,  was  orderly 
and  well  conducted;  however,  he  did  not 
have  a  sufficiently  strong  hand,  refusing  to 

*Conditi()ns  are  now  indescribably  worse;  sevent)'-five  percent 
of  the  population  of  Petrograd  has  disappeared  during  the  past 
five  years,  and  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  thousand  per  month 
have   died   of  cold    and   starvation   during   the   present   winter. 


42 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


spill  human  blood.  The  death  penalty  for 
soldiers  deserting  from  the  army  was  with- 
drawn, with  the  result  that  thousands  de- 
serted, returning  to  their  homes. 

It  was  fascinating  to  hear  the  inside 
story  of  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution 
from  a  high  British  ordnance  officer.  Ac- 
cording to  him  it  was  deliberately  precipi- 
tated by  the  British  Government  in  order 
to  dethrone  the  Czar  and  prevent  him  from 
concluding  a  separate  peace,*  as  he  was 
totally  under  the  influence  of  his  wife,  the 
Czarina,  and  the  pro-German  court  party 
as  headed  by  her. 

A  leading  English  Duke  was  sent  on  a 
secret  mission  to  see  the  Czar  and  instead 
of  receiving  the  usual  courtesy  he  was  re- 
ceived by  the  Czar  in  an  audience  of  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  standing.  After  this, 
he  at  once  proceeded  to  the  British  Em- 
bassy, giving  the  signal  for  the  Revolution 
to  begin,  which  the  British  Government 
financially  backed  through  leaders  of  the 
Douma,  including  Kerensky. 

The  description  of  the  Russian  members 
of  the  Peace  Conference  at  Brest-Litovsk 
is  fantastic.  It  consisted  of  a  young  work- 
ingman  of  twenty-one  years,  of  no  experi- 
ence or  education;  one  young  soldier  and 
one  old  ''spiritual"  or  fortune-teller,  beside 

*This  has  since  been  authenticated  from  a  more  reliable  source. 


43 


Paris,  France, 
Feb.  I2th, 
19  iS. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France, 

Feb.  I2th, 

1918. 


a  fourth  of  the  same  ignorant  class.  Ger- 
many, on  the  other  hand,  was  repre- 
sented by  the  best  of  her  brains  and  diplo- 
mats, including  generals  and  princes.  The 
Russians  in  the  negotiations  refused  to  dis- 
cuss at  length,  but  stubbornly  said  what 
they  would  do  and  what  they  would  not  do 
and  could  not  be  shaken  from  these  deci- 
sions. 

We  have  had  a  vivid  description  of  trench 
life  by  Gus'  cousin,  Tony  Lelong,  a  former 
social  leader  of  New  Orleans,  who  enlisted 
as  a  "simple"  soldier  in  the  French  Army  a 
year  and  a  half  ago,  and  now  is  a  Major  in 
the  American  Army.  He  has  given  us  some 
remarkable  descriptions  of  attacks  on  the 
enemy  trenches,  he  having  gone  ''over  the 
top"  several  times  with  the  French.  Half  of 
his  teeth  are  gone  from  being  gassed.  When 
I  inquired  if  their  attacks  had  always  been 
successful  he  said,  "Of  course,  otherwise 
I  would  not  be  here."  They  occasionally 
caught  the  Germans  unawares  in  their 
underground  dug-outs  and  squirted  liquid 
fire  on  them,  burning  them  alive  like  rats 
in  a  hole. 

In  describing  the  almost  abject  conditions 
in  which  men  are  reduced  in  the  trenches 
to  living  like  animals,  he  said  that  the  soup 
would  have  to  be  brought  up  from  several 
miles  in  the  rear;    and  one  day,  when  it 


44 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


was  his  turn  to  go  to  fetch  it  and  the 
shelhng  was  continuous,  he  offered  to  pay 
a  French  soldier  to  go,  but  then  reahzed  he 
was  asking  the  man  to  risk  his  hfe  in  his 
place  and  so  changed  his  mind  and  went 
himself.  He  said  the  shells  were  bursting 
around  him,  and  when  one  burst  in  front, 
he  jumped  back,  and  when  one  burst  behind 
him  he  sprang  forward,  and  then  he  stood 
still,  not  knowing  whether  to  go  forward 
or  back,  fast  or  slow.  Then  he  remembered 
that  the  boys  were  waiting  for  their  soup, 
so  decided  to  run.  When  he  arrived  they 
would  reach  in  with  their  dirty  hands, 
lifting  lumps  of  dirt  out,  grunting  exclama- 
tions of  satisfaction  and  joy  over  how  fine 
the  soup  was. 

It  is  a  great  surprise  to  find  the  Belgians, 
so  lauded  and  regarded  as  heroes,  are  now 
generally  disliked.  It  is  said  they  have 
lagged  and  shirked  their  duty,  and  are 
resting  on  the  laurels  of  their  first  magnifi- 
cent stand  in  holding  back  the  Germans. 
There  are  large  numbers  of  Belgian  refu- 
gees here  who  at  one  time  refused  to  work. 

My  friend  Baron*  de  Wardener,  in  the 
coal  business,  had  a  number  of  boat-loads 
of  coal  in  the  Seine,  which  he  was  unable  to 
unload  owing  to  the  shortage  of  labor,  and 
the  demurrage  was  costing  a  small  fortune 

*Captain. 


45 


Paris,  France, 
Feb.  1 2th, 

IQlS. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France, 

Feb.  I2th, 

1918. 


daily.  There  were  over  one  thousand 
Belgian  refugees  at  the  St.  Lazare  railway 
station  and  De  Wardener  went  down  to 
where  they  were,  and  standing  on  a  barrel 
offered  the  large  wages  of  fifteen  francs  a 
day,  but  was  unable  to  secure  a  single  man 
willing  to  work.  They  were  all  fed  free  by 
the  French  Government. 

This  is  simply  a  passing  phase  illustrating 
how  rapidly  a  people  can  fall  from  a  posi- 
tion of  idolatry  to  one  of  disdain,  and  how 
fickle  is  human  appreciation. 

With  much  love  to  you  all,  from  your 
most  devoted  and  affectionate  son, 

FERD. 


46 


i 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France,  Feb.  227id,  igi8. 

OTHER'S   charming  letter,  with 
enclosures  of  January  28th,  was 
received    February    17th,   also   a 
long   personal   letter   from    Rev- 
erend John  Timothy  Stone. 

Another  enormous  box  of  candy  was 
received  Saturday  just  in  time  for  the 
dinner-dance  Gus  and  I  were  giving.  That 
is,  Katherine  Force  and  I  each  gave  small 
dinners,  afterwards  going  to  her  apartment 
to  dance  as  there  are  hardwood  floors  and 
enormous  rooms.  Gus  and  I  made  all 
the  arrangements,  invited  the  guests  and 
provided  the  music  and  punch.  Harvey 
Ladew,who  is  a  First  Lieut,  of  Ordnance,* 
was  with  us.  There  were  ten  couples  and 
needless  to  say  the  party  was  a  great  suc- 
cess as  entertainments  are  scarce  and  much 
appreciated.  There  is  some  entertaining, 
however,  on  a  small  scale,  particularly  for 
British  officers  returning  from  the  front.  The 
men  who  are  still  living  and  fighting  want 
gaiety  and  do  not  care  to  be  greeted  with 
long,  sad  faces  when  they  return  on  a  few 
days'  ''permission."  For  this  reason  restau- 
rants are  well  patronized  and  private  dining- 
rooms  must  be  always  engaged  in  advance. 

*Later  in  the  Liaison  Service. 


47 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  Francf, 

Feb.  22nd, 

1918. 


I  have  been  too  busy  to  write  in  de- 
tail regarding  the  interesting  work  of  the 
last  few  weeks  with  the  War  Risk  Bureau 
while  making  our  final  drive  before  the 
twelfth  of  this  month.  Captain  Willard 
Mack,  a  Lieutenant,  and  I  covered  all  the 
troops  in  and  around  Paris,  making  ad- 
dresses when  possible.  I  visited  a  num- 
ber of  detachments  alone,  addressing  them 
myself. 

The  camouflage  studio  was  particularly 
interesting,  with  curtains  and  screens  like 
those  used  on  an  enormous  stage.  The 
Germans  are  said  to  have  perfected  camou- 
flaging to  such  an  extent  that  entire  army 
corps  pass  through  villages  near  the  Italian 
front  without  being  seen  by  the  Allied 
aviators. 

We  visited  the  Supreme  War  Council, 
held  in  the  magnificent  Palace  Hotel  at 
Versailles,  to  write  the  insurance  of  the 
American  officers.  It  was  extremely  inter- 
esting and  the  opportunity  of  a  lifetime  to 
witness  such  a  momentous  event.  Sentries 
stopped  casual  people  in  the  quiet  streets 
within  two  blocks  of  the  building.  We  saw 
the  conference,  which  was  quiet  and  digni- 
fied, in  session  in  the  large  salon,*  through 
glass  doors.     There  were  about  twenty  dis- 

*Where  the  ceremonial  of  handing  the  treaty  to  the  Germans 
later  took  place. 


48 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


tinguished  men  seated  around  a  long  table, 
including  Lloyd  George,  Clemenceau,  Gen- 
erals Pershing,  Bliss,  Foch,  and  Petain  and 
the  British  General  Robertson.  The  well- 
known  French  crayon  artist,  Lucien  Jonas, 
was  making  a  book  of  charcoal  sketches  for 
the  War  Museum  at  the  Invalides  to  be 
preserved  for  posterity.  He  sketched  us  as 
types  of  Americans,  and  then  had  us  auto- 
graph them.  There  were  no  visitors,  we 
being  the  only  ones  present  besides  the 
attendants.  Captain  Mack  secured  the 
autographs  of  Lloyd  George,  Foch,  Petain 
and  Clemenceau  as  they  were  leaving 
the  council  room. 

Afterwards  we  all  had  luncheon  in  the 
same  dining-room  at  the  Hotel  des  Reser- 
voirs.* It  was  a  glorious  springlike  day 
and  the  little  children  played  in  the  palace 
grounds  with  their  nurses,  oblivious  of  the 
fact  that  the  fate  of  nations  and  perhaps 
the  destinies  of  the  civilized  world  would 
depend  upon  the  decisions  of  this  little 
group  of  men.  Life  was  going  on  as  usual 
at  peaceful  Versailles  as  if  nobody  were 
aware  that  such  a  momentous  history-mak- 
ing conference  was  in  session  in  their  midst. 

My  work  under  Major  H.H.Harjes,Chief 
Liaison  Officer,   is  going  to  be  extremely 

*Now  occupied  by  the  German  Envoys  to  the  Peace  Con- 
ference. 


49 


Paris,  France, 
Feb.  22nd, 
191S. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France, 

Feb.  22nd, 

igiS. 


interesting.  He  is  a  refined  and  delightful 
American  of  perhaps  forty-five,  who  has 
lived  in  Paris  all  of  his  life.  He  is  immacu- 
lately groomed,  a  fine  type  of  modern 
banker,  extremely  courteous  and  never 
orders,  but  with  a  pleasant  smile  says, 
"Will  you  please  do  so  and  so?"  It  is  an 
inspiration  to  work  for  a  man  with  such  a 
magnetic  personality,  as  it  was  likewise  for 
Major  Willard  D.  Straight  (a  Yale  gradu- 
ate, formerly  Consul  General  to  China,  who 
negotiated  the  Chinese  Loan  for  the  Syndi- 
cate of  American  Bankers  headed  by  J.  P. 
Morgan;  also  Vice-President  of  the  Inter- 
national Corporation).  He  gave  a  farewell 
dinner  at  the  Hotel  Crillon  for  all  the 
officers  and  men  of  the  War  Risk  Bureau 
before  leaving  for  the  Officers'  Staff  School. 
Thirty  officers  and  forty-five  men  sat  down 
to  dinner  in  adjoining  banquet-rooms,  and 
afterwards  the  folding  doors  were  thrown 
open  and  the  officers  came  in.  There  were 
after-dinner  speeches  and  recitations  by 
several  of  the  men,  and  Major  Straight  made 
a  farewell  address  praising  both  officers  and 
men  in  the  highest  terms.  He  was  pre- 
sented with  the  most  touching  resolutions 
of  appreciation  from  his  men  expressing 
their  gratitude  for  his  kindness,  generosity 
and  wholeheartedness  and  splendid  leader- 
ship. 


50 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Major  Straight  has  accomplished  a  big 
work  with  his  small  force,  and  successfully 
"put  the  job  over,"  within  the  time  limit. 
We  have  covered  every  American  soldier  in 
every  part  of  France  and  given  him  his 
chance  to  take  insurance.  This  Insurance 
Act,  which  includes  both  insurance  and 
compensation,  the  modern  word  for  pen- 
sion, is  the  biggest  and  most  generous  legis- 
lation of  the  kind  ever  passed  by  any 
government  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
Affectionately, 

FERD. 


Paris,  France, 
Feb.  22nd, 
1917. 


51 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris y  France y  March  15th,  igi8. 


^TTjE  HAVE  indulged  in  our  second 
air-raid  of  the  present  series. 
&^  The  other  evening  as  I  sat  read- 
ing and  musing  over  loving  let- 
ters which  had  been  carefully  treasured, 
and  was  dreaming  of  America  and  France, 
and  incidentally  enjoying  the  Chicago  Trib- 
une, the  shrill  sirens,  the  warning  of  ap- 
proaching death  and  destruction,  passed 
the  house,  on  fast  fire  department  motors. 

The  great  majority  of  fatalities  do  not 
occur  in  houses  struck  by  bombs,  because 
the  number  of  direct  hits  is  comparatively 
few,  but  from  the  heavy  concussions  and 
flying  debris  hurled  several  hundred  yards 
in  all  directions  by  force  of  the  explosions. 

The  bombing  commenced  early,  at  nine 
o'clock,  and  deep  mingled  intonations  of 
bombs  and  cannon  barrage  fire  continued 
almost  incessantly  for  an  hour,  and  inter- 
mittently for  three  hours,  before  the  thirty 
Boche  planes  had  left  and  the  "all's  quiet" 
was  sounded,  and  people  returned  from  the 
cellars  to  their  beds. 

The  barrage  is  maintained  to  keep  the 
avions  out  of  Paris.  When  they  have 
entered  the  city  they  cannot  be  fired  at 
with   shrapnel   for   fear  of  killing   people. 


52 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


The  German  planes  usually  reach  Paris 
about  eleven  o'clock,  as  they  must  cross 
the  lines  after  dark  and  it  takes  an  hour 
or  so  to  reach  here. 

Paris  is  quite  different  in  the  evenings 
from  what  it  was  a  month  ago,  for  the 
police  are  strict  about  prohibiting  light 
showing  from  windows,  and  the  streets  are 
in  almost  total  darkness.  The  few  remain- 
ing dim  street  gas-lamps  have  dull  blue 
globes  and  are  well  shaded  from  above. 
The  weird  blue-green  light  is  diffused  more 
than  white,  and  scarcely  dispels  total  dark- 
ness. It  evidently  makes  a  target  more 
difficult  to  locate  from  the  sky.  Street  cars 
and  metro,  which  come  to  the  surface  to 
cross  the  Seine,  are  similarly  dimly  lighted. 
One  goes  stumbling  about  in  the  dark,  as 
in  the  days  of  Dickens  in  London. 

Many  buildings  have  posters  marked 
'*Abri — ICO  persons,"  or  whatever  the  num- 
ber may  be,  meaning  their  cellars  have  been 
chosen  and  prepared  for  shelter  by  the 
Government,  on  account  of  unusually  strong 
construction.  Some  of  the  deeper  metro 
stations,  such  as  at  the  Place  de  I'Opera  and 
Place  de  la  Concorde,  have  small  electric 
signs,  "Refuge,"  and  the  public  is  permitted 
to  crowd  in  free  of  charge.  The  metro 
trains  are  stopped  during  the  raids,  which 
causes  consternation  among  parents  wish- 


53 


Paris,  France, 
March  Jjth, 
1918. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France, 

March  15th, 

1918. 


ing  to  get  home  from  the  theaters  to  put 
their  children  in  a  place  of  safety.  The 
French  are  un-nerved  but  take  the  raids 
good-naturedly;  however,  there  is  consider- 
able openly  expressed  indignation  among 
American  officers,  who  are  not  accustomed 
to  this  indiscriminate  slaughter  of  innocents. 

The  protecting  of  famous  historical  monu- 
ments and  statues  and  architectural  treas- 
ures is  progressing  deliberately,  even  slowly, 
on  account  of  lack  of  labor,  but  most 
thoroly,  as  if  preparing  for  a  long  sum- 
mer siege.  Heavy  frame-work  is  built 
around  whatever  is  to  be  protected,  and 
frequently  a  heavy  stone  wall  ten  or  fifteen 
feet  high,  on  top  of  which  sacks  of  earth 
to  a  thickness  of  four  or  five  feet  are  care- 
fully piled.  The  fine  examples  of  sculptured 
art  on  the  fagades  of  buildings,  churches 
and  monuments  are  what  is  most  carefully 
protected. 

Listening  to  the  buzz  of  enemy  motors 
and  waiting  for  an  air  raid  to  pass  is  like 
sitting  indoors  during  a  severe  spring 
electrical  storm,  waiting  for  the  lightning 
to  strike.  However,  it  is  rather  more 
serious.  It  makes  one  stop  and  ponder  and 
want  to  make  a  hasty  peace  with  his  Creator. 
Nothing  has  a  more  sobering  and  purifying 
infiuence  than  the  proximity  of  violent 
death.     We   experienced   the   same   sensa- 


54 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


tions  during  our  engagement  with  sub- 
marines when  crossing  on  the  Henderson. 
It  makes  one  realize  how  futile  our  little 
lives  are,  how  cheap  human  endeavor  is, 
and  how  easily  we  may  be  wafted  into 
eternity. 

To  speak  of  something  more  pleasant,  I 
had  dinner  the  other  evening  at  the  Ritz 
with  Elsie  Janis  and  several  men,  all  officers, 
for  that  is  all  the  men  there  are  now. 

My  work  with  Major  Harjes  is  progress- 
ing splendidly  and  my  French  is  getting 
well  limbered.     With  lots  of  love  to  you  all, 

Most  affectionately  your  devoted  son, 

FERD. 


Paris,  France, 
March  isth, 
1918. 


55 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France,  April  nth,  igi8. 

^OUR  recent  large  envelopes  con- 
taining letters  of  February  2nd, 
IMS  1 6th  and  21st,  with  interesting 
enclosures,  also  letters  of  Febru- 
ary 5th,  January  i8th,  January  28th,  etc., 
have  all  been  received  and  most  heartily 
appreciated.  I  am  receiving  so  many  long, 
loving  letters  from  you  and  some  of  my 
friends  it  is  almost  impossible  to  keep  track 
of  them  and  to  reply.  There  are  so  many 
things  I  want  to  write  about  I  hardly  know 
how  to  begin. 

In  the  first  place,  I  was  delighted  to 
know  that  Jack  had  been  commissioned  as 
Ensign  so  promptly.  I  cabled  you  recently: 
"Commissioned  Second  Lieutenant  Infan- 
try. Congratulations  to  Jack.  Love.  Lieu- 
tenant Jelke."  After  waiting  all  these 
tedious  months,  and  many  times  almost 
despairing  of  success,  my  commission  finally 
arrived  most  unexpectedly.  Word  was  re- 
ceived at  noon  and  two  hours  later  I  took 
the  oath  of  office.  Gus  Ferrier  was  sworn 
in  two  days  before  and  has  been  like  a 
delighted  child. 

I  am  to  be  stationed  in  Paris,  and 
privileged  to  wear  spurs,  although  an 
infantry  officer — staff  officers  are  supposed 


56 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


to  be  mounted,  but  have  automobiles 
nowadays — and  am  to  go  on  special  mis- 
sions requiring  the  services  of  a  liaison 
officer  any  place  in  France.  Had  I  been 
allowed  to  choose  exactly  what  I  would 
prefer  to  do,  of  all  things  this  is  the  best. 
You  understand  that  this  is  administrative 
liaison  work  between  the  American  and 
French  military  authorities,  requiring  the 
services  of  ''diplomats,"  and  every  officer 
on  the  staff  is  chosen  for  his  peculiar  quali- 
fications for  this  work.* 

I  made  two  interesting  trips  lately  as 
interpreter  with  a  Captain  Ferdinand  Bar- 
telme,  formerly  in  the  lumber  business, 
and  who  for  some  years  lived  in  Chicago. 
One  trip  was  near  Chateau-Thierry  to  in- 
spect a  French  military  plant  for  making 
excelsior  used  as  bedding  for  soldiers, 
and  another  was  in  a  Fiat  limousine,  over 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  near  Havre, 
to  visit  a  civilian  plant  of  the  same  kind. 
I  secured  full  technical  and  practical  details 
for  the  manufacture  of  excelsior,  and  com- 
plete blue-print  plans  for  the  construction 

*"Liaison"  means  joining,  connection,  ligature,  or  slur  (as  in 
music,  or  pronunciation  of  two  French  words). 

Liaison  Service  in  the  French  Army  includes  all  Signal 
Corps  work.  Agent-de-liaison  means  a  runner  between  two 
field  units. 

In  the  American  Army  the  term  "Liaison  Service"  applies 
to  our  special  service  attaching  American  officers  to  French 
Army  and  Army  Corps  Staffs  and  various  Departments  of  the 
Ministry  of  War  in  a  purely  diplomatic  capacity. 


Paris,  France, 
April  nth, 
19x8. 


57 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  Franc f, 

April  iJth, 

igiS. 


of  excelsior  plants  which  they  are  con- 
sidering placing  behind  the  American 
front. 

One  thing  I  was  most  impressed  by  in  the 
various  towns  was  the  plentifulness  of  food, 
and  we  gourmandized,  thinking  that  per- 
haps each  good  meal  would  be  the  last. 
The  whole  idea  of  the  French  stinting  or 
depriving  themselves  is  more  or  less  of  a 
joke,  as  it  is  contrary  to  their  natures. 
Don't  misunderstand  me;  I  mean  they  are 
easy-going,  but  at  the  same  time  frugal. 
Food  is  plentiful,  of  course  at  prices  higher 
than  usual,  which  is  hard  on  the  poor.  To 
be  sure,  sugar  is  scarce,  each  person  limited 
to  one  pound  per  month,  and  butter  is  no 
longer  served  in  restaurants,  as  it  is  for- 
bidden by  law.  It  is  a  dollar  a  pound  for 
fresh  unsalted.  These  are  the  only  articles 
in  which  there  appears  to  be  a  great 
shortage.  The  consumption  of  bread  was 
restricted  by  the  use  of  bread  cards  the 
first  of  April,  but  this  is  becoming  lax. 

The  headquarters  of  the  Transportation 
of  the  A.  E.  F.,  under  Brig.  General  Wallace 
Atterbury,  former  Vice-President  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad,  where  Gus  is  at- 
tached, has  moved  to  Tours,  and  we  re- 
cently arranged  several  small  farewell  din- 
ners in  their  honor  and  also  to  celebrate 
receiving  our  commissions. 


58 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Lieut.-Colonel*  Charles  G.  Dawes,  for- 
mer president  of  the  Central  Trust  Company 
of  IlHnois,  whom  I  occasionally  see,  is  also 
doing  some  exceptional  work  as  head  of  the 
A.  E.  F.  Purchasing  Board. 

With  much  love  to  you  all,  affectionately, 
your  devoted  son, 

FERD. 


"Now  Brigadier  General. 


Paris,  France, 
April  nth, 
1918. 


59 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France,  April  15th,  igi8. 

HE  first  days  of  the  Big  Bertha, 
no  one  knew  what  it  was.  As 
X^0i  I  was  on  my  way  to  my  office, 
and  stopped  at  the  boot-makers, 
the  iron  shutters  were  closed;  some  one 
volunteered,  "You  can  enter  through  the 
rear  door  in  the  court."  I  went  in  and 
found  the  proprietor  serving  a  customer 
with  the  electric  lights  burning.  He  said 
"Have  you  not  heard  the  'alert.?'"  I  re- 
plied that  it  was  ridiculous,  the  German 
planes  were  not  coming  in  bright  daylight. 
Upon  returning  to  my  taxi,  the  taxi  driver 
refused  to  go  further,  and  I  argued  with  him, 
saying  the  Boches  will  not  arrive  before 
half  an  hour  after  the  "alert." 

The  streets  were  thronged  with  buzzing 
shop  people  and  working  girls,  looking  into 
the  sky,  who  had  quit  work  and  were 
swarming  as  on  a  holiday.  I  continued  to 
my  office,  and  thought  little  further  of  the 
matter.  At  noon,  there  were  no  taxis  to 
be  had.  The  metro  had  stopped  and  the 
few  remaining  running  taxis  were  each 
loaded  with  eight  or  ten  people.  Finally, 
upon  reaching  the  Place  de  I'Opera,  the 
streets  were  filled  with  people  all  of  whom 


60 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


were  to  discontinue  work  for  several  days 
to  come. 

The  next  morning  our  maid,  who  had 
spent  most  of  the  night  in  the  cellar, 
talked  about  the  German  cannon,  and  said, 
"Why,  it  is  written  in  the  papers."  I 
replied,  "Don't  be  foolish,  that  is  impossible, 
the  Germans  are  sixty  miles  away." 

For  several  days  every  one  speculated 
and  finally  concluded  that  spies  had  seques- 
tered an  air-compressed  cannon  in  a  house 
in  the  suburbs  which  was  shot  through 
the  skylight.  This  theory  was  quite  gen- 
erally accepted,  and  it  was  fully  a  week 
before  it  became  known  from  whence  came 
the  shells  that  were  dropping  regularly 
every  twenty  minutes. 

The  second  day,  as  I  was  looking  out  of 
the  fifth  story  ofiice  window,  I  saw  a  large 
sugar  factory,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Seine, 
struck  and  go  up  in  a  cloud  of  smoke  and 
dust. 

Devotedly, 

FERD. 


Paris,  France, 
April  isth, 
191S. 


61 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris ^  France,  April  i6th,  igi8. 


M 


^)~p->^AST  night  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
being  the  guest  of  honor  at  a 
brilliant  dinner  for  twelve  given 
by  the  Due*  and  Duchess  de 
Montmorency  at  their  home,  virtually  a 
palace,  in  the  Avenue  du  Bois  de  Boulogne, 
Lieutenant  Harold  Crandall,  who  is  living 
with  me,  since  Gus  left  Paris,  and  I  being 
the  only  American  officers  present.  The 
Princess  Lucien  Murat,**  perhaps  the  most 
socially  prominent  woman  in  Paris,  and  one 
of  the  most  brilliant,  was  on  the  host's  right, 
while  I  was  seated  on  the  hostess'  right. 
On  my  other  side  was  Mme.  Vesnitch,  the 
wife  of  the  Servian  Minister,***  the  sister  of 
the  Duchess.  They  said  it  is  good  luck 
to  sit  at  dinner  between  two  sisters.  There 
was  also  the  daughter  of  Mme.  Vesnitch,  a 
charming  girl. 

Dinner  was  served  by  four  butlers  (re- 
formes),  and  the  house  is  not  surpassed  by 
any  in  New  York  or  Paris.  The  paintings 
had  been  removed  from  their  frames  in  the 
art-gallery  and  put  in  the  cellar  on  account 
of  the  danger  of  bombs. 

*Captain. 

**Whose  home  was  occupied  by  President  Wilson  during  his 
first  trip  to  Paris. 

***Dr.  M.  Ve-nitch  is  the  Servian  Delegate  to  the  Peace  Con 
ference. 


62 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


The  Princess  Murat,  who  does  not  look 
her  position  (or  rather  does),  is  extremely 
plain  and  appears  more  like  a  litterateure, 
which  she  is,  than  a  society  woman.  She 
has  written  a  book  on  ''Rasputin,"  part  of 
which  appeared  in  the  "Century"  last  year, 
and  is  now  writing  one  on  George  Washing- 
ton and  Lafayette,  for  children,  which  she 
is  illustrating  herself.  Her  conversation 
and  ideas  are  most  original  and  interesting. 
Her  husband's  mother  was  a  Russian  from 
the  Caucasus,  and  the  Princess  has  been  to 
Russia  no  less  than  eight  or  ten  times,  hav- 
ing traveled  extensively  throughout  Russia. 
In  fact,  the  Prince  is  now  living  on  their 
estates  in  the  Caucasus,  and  she  returned  to 
France  two  years  ago  to  place  her  young 
son  in  the  French  Army  as  a  common 
soldier.  This  she  did  against  the  wishes  of 
her  relatives,  because  he  is  not  strong,  and 
on  account  of  his  birth  he  could  have  had 
a  commission  in  the  Russian  Army.  In 
this  way  he  could  have  avoided  being  sub- 
jected to  the  hardships  of  a  "simple  soldier" 
in  a  Republican  Army.  However,  she  said", 
"I  am  going  to  take  my  son  back  to  die  on 
the  fields  of  France."  All  of  her  son's  Rus- 
sian boy  officer  friends  have  since  been  put 
to  death  by  the  "people"  in  the  Caucasus. 

The  more  the  complicated  conditions  of 
this  vast  empire  are  disclosed,  the  more  they 


63 


Paris,  France, 
April  i6lh, 
1918. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France, 
April  1 6th, 

IQiS. 


become  mystifying,  and  the  more  one 
realizes  his  ignorance  concerning  this  hidden 
country,  so  rich  in  latent  resources,  which 
are  the  greatest  in  the  world.  The  revolu- 
tion itself  cannot  be  attributed  to  any  one 
cause.  It  was  simply  like  something  that 
is  ripe.  The  Czar,  who  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  absolute  power — a  thing  she  says 
we  can  scarcely  comprehend — and  whose 
father  and  grandfather  before  him  had 
known  nothing  else,  might  have  prevented 
it  by  appointing  a  minister  responsible  to 
the  people,  but  this  is  doubtful.  As  to  his 
signing  a  separate  peace,  his  mother  assured 
the  Princess,  shortly  before,  that  her  son 
would  never  do  that,  for,  as  she  said,  "Mon 
fils  a  donne  sa  parole  d'honneur." 

When  the  French  and  English  missions 
came  to  America  last  March,  a  year  ago, 
and  admitted  the  serious  conditions,  many 
thought  we  had  been  duped  in  previously 
being  led  to  believe  Germany  was  about  to 
collapse;  however,  such  was  really  the  case, 
for  if  Russia  had  held  out  three  or  four 
months  longer,  Germany  would  then  have 
received  the  death  thrust.  Most  Americans 
have  only  a  vague  conception  of  the  situa- 
tion, owing  to  their  lack  of  knowledge  of 
the  geography  of  the  country,  its  resources 
and  the  facts.  Many  French  know  little 
more,  and  I  haven't  talked  to  any  one  who 


64 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


has  so  comprehensive  a  grasp  or  who  has 
spoken  so  frankly  as  the  Princess,  except 
possibly  the  Vicomtesse  de  Rancongne.  She 
said  she  would  not  have  admitted  it  herself 
a  week  ago,  and  it  wouldn't  do  to  tell  the 
people  the  whole  truth  now,  but  we  are 
passing  through  the  crisis  and  gravest 
period  of  the  war. 

Unfortunately,  the  Allies  have  never 
pulled  simultaneously  and  in  full  unison, 
owing  to  the  difference  in  language  and  the 
lack  of  a  supreme  commander.  They  have 
not  been  in  tune,  so  to  speak.  The  Ger- 
mans and  Austrians  have  had  a  great 
advantage  in  this  respect.  The  Kaiser  said 
to  his  brother-in-law,  the  King  of  Greece, 
several  days  before  the  battle,  that  he  was 
going  to  win  on  account  of  the  Allies  not 
having  a  Supreme  Command.  Marechal 
Foch  was  put  in  supreme  command  only  on 
the  first  day  of  the  battle.  Think  of  it! 
Even  our  children  in  reading  history  will 
think  we  were  mad  to  make  so  belated  a 
change  in  organization.  But  if  it  had  not 
been  made,  the  battle  would  have  been 
lost;  it  was  all  that  saved  the  Allies  from  a 
crushing  defeat — so  say  the  French.  Cle- 
menceau  brought  his  fist  down  on  the  table 
two  days  before  the  battle  started  and 
said  to  Lloyd  George,  'Tf  you  don't 
put  Foch  in  command,  I  will  sign  peace 


65 


Paris,  France, 
April  i6th, 
IQiS. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France, 

April  i6th, 

1918. 


tomorrow."  It  was  the  pressure  of  the 
Americans  that  brought  this  about.  The 
American  General  Staff  and  Pershing 
strongly  endorsed  one  command  months 
ago,  which  he  stated  at  the  time  in  conver- 
sation with  the  Princess. 

Very  devotedly  and   affectionately,  your 
son, 

FERD. 


66 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France,  April  26th,  igi8. 

HE  average  American  officer 
knows  very  little  of  the  psychol- 
VMii  ^§y  ^^^  ^^^  inside  workings  of 
French  minds,  as  one  soon  finds 
from  the  general  conversation  in  a  French 
salon.  Things  which  we  do  not  talk  about, 
even  if  we  know  of  them,  are  frequently 
common  knowledge  and  openly  discussed. 
It  is  interesting  to  mingle  with  French 
whose  opinions  are  of  importance,  and  to 
hear  their  ideas,  always  friendly,  regarding 
us.  They  speak  quite  intimately;  knowing, 
I  understand  and  appreciate  their  point  of 
view,  although  frequently  it  is  quite  different 
from  our  own.  Studying  the  French  and 
the  developments  from  day  to  day  is  like 
watching  an  ever-changing  kaleidoscope. 
It  is  almost  impossible  to  keep  informed  on 
the  news  up-to-date.  Their  one  and  sole 
topic  of  conversation  is  the  war:  one  talks 
about  it  before  dinner,  during  dinner,  and 
after  dinner.  Some  one  says,  '*Now,  we 
have  talked  enough  about  the  war,  let  us 
^change  the  subject,"  and  a  feeble  attempt 
is  made,  but  always  with  the  same  result — 
the  conversation  reverts  to  the  war.  It  is 
all  one  knows;  it's  all  we  talked  of  at  the 
last  place,  or  shall  at  the  next;   it's  all  we 


67 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France, 

April  26th, 

IQiS. 


think  of,  read  of,  or  care  about.  In  fact, 
it  is  the  one  and  only  absorbing  topic  every 
one  is  interested  in,  as  it  is  nearest  their 
hearts.  The  pros  and  cons  are  discussed 
with  all  their  ramifications,  and  when  will 
the  war  end  and  how?  It  isn't  all  one 
glorious  succession  of  victories,  as  the 
American  press  naively  would  lead  one  to 
believe.  There  is  a  seamy  side,  which  these 
people  know,  and  about  which  they  have  no 
hallucinations.  "Guillaume"  isn't  in  reality 
a  tottering,  old,  senile  degenerate  waiting 
to  be  easily  pushed  off  his  wobbly  throne, 
as  depicted  by  the  American  press  and 
cartoonists;  but  the  German  Army,  which 
we  choose  to  personify  in  him,  is  a  great 
and  powerful  machine,  a  serious  menace  to 
the  world,  and  is  no  joke,  despite  our 
caricatures.  The  foreign  press  does  not 
speak  of  the  enemy  in  the  jesting,  flippant 
manner  the  American  papers  do. 

The  French  do  not  differentiate  between 
"William"  and  the  German  people.  Per- 
haps they  are  too  close  to  get  this  perspec- 
tive. All  they  see  is  a  heartless,  cruel,  and 
powerful  army  with  hordes  of  devastating 
and  murdering  Huns,  fighting  regardless  of 
rules  of  war  or  code  of  honor.  Trying  to 
lay  the  blame  personally  on  the  Kaiser  does 
not  occur  to  them.  They  haven't  the  warm 
or  even  neutral  spot  in  their  hearts  of  other 


68 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


countries  to  explain  German  rapacity  by 
blaming  this  awful  cataclysm  on  one  man. 

This  leads  me  to  the  point  that  I  cannot 
believe  the  Germans  intend  to  fight  the 
Americans  to  a  finish;  not  through  purely 
humanitarian  or  sentimental  reasons,  but 
because  of  the  deep-seated  bitterness  that 
already  exists  in  every  English  and  French 
home.  They  cannot  well  afford,  for  com- 
mercial reasons,  to  so  embitter  another  hun- 
dred million.  Every  family  in  America 
still  untouched  by  the  hand  of  death  does 
not  yet  have  this  feeling  of  hatred,  and 
is  only  fighting  through  a  sense  of  duty, 
of  justice  and  right.  When  looked  at  in 
this  light,  as  expressed  to  me  by  a  French 
officer,  it  is  the  most  wonderful  chivalry 
ever  known.  The  Crusades  sink  into  in- 
significance. 

While  in  conversation  with  a  Canadian 
Colonel,  he  spoke  of  how  cheaply  human 
life  is  held.  Every  English  noble  house 
has  lost  its  eldest  son.  All  look  upon  the 
body  as  simply  a  box  temporarily  inhabited, 
and  death  as  a  perfectly  natural  occurrence 
to  be  expected.  He  told  a  story  of  the 
readiness  with  which  many  Germans  now 
surrender  when  given  the  opportunity. 
This  day  hundreds  came  running  into  the 
English  trenches  with  their  hands  up  calling 
"Kamerad."     An  English  sergeant  standing 


Paris,  France, 
April  26th, 
1918. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France, 
April  26th, 

igi8. 


at  the  end  of  the  trench  allowed  them  to 
pass,  stopping  each  one  and  making  him 
say,  "God  save  the  King." 

A  French  Captain  whom  I  met  at  dinner 
at  the  Duke  of  Montmorency's,  who  had 
been  wounded  three  times,  told  of  killing 
fifteen  hundred  Germans  in  one  afternoon 
(official  estimate)  at  Verdun  the  day  he 
was  wounded,  with  his  machine  company. 
The  Germans  advanced  in  solid  formation, 
in  wave  after  wave,  and  were  mowed  down 
by  his  "mitrailleuses,''  hidden  in  shell- 
craters,  like  wheat  before  a  mowing  machine. 
He  and  his  men  had  been  ordered  to  hold 
their  places  and  to  fight  until  death;  how- 
ever, they  lost  only  about  ten  men.  The 
intrepid  bravery  of  the  Germans  is  spoken 
of  unhesitatingly  by  the  French. 

If  the  Germans  had  thrown  one  more 
fresh  division  in  at  Verdun,  they  could 
have  gone  straight  thru  to  Paris;  how- 
ever, luckily,  they  either  didn't  know  this 
or  didn't  have  the  division. 

I  wrote,  during  the  winter,  of  Paris  being 
almost  gay,  at  least  quite  normal  on  the 
surface.  There  has  been  a  marked  change 
since  the  air-raids  and  long  distance  can- 
nonading commenced,*  to  which  I  thought 

*There  were  over  five  hundred  aerial  bombs  and  over  five 
hundred  long-distance  six-inch  shells,  all  containing  high  explo- 
sives, dropped  on  Paris. 


70 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


the  depression  was  due,  as  people  were 
panicky,  and  a  million  left  the  city.  The 
provincial  towns,  Biarritz  and  resorts  on 
the  Riviera  are  crowded.  At  some  of  the 
stations  are  signs,  "Don't  get  off  here,  there 
are  no  more  beds."  However,  the  general 
sadness  that  has  come  into  everyone's  heart 
is  due  more  to  apprehension  and  the  awful 
carnage  of  the  great  German  drive.  The 
spring  defensive  and  another  season's  cam- 
paign is  enough  to  depress  people,  but 
underlying  it  all  is  a  grim  determination. 

Affectionately, 

FERD. 


Paris,  France, 
April  26th, 
1918. 


71 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans^  France,  May  ist,  igi8. 

NE  constantly  must  study  the 
courtesies  and  formalities  which 
are  so  dear  to  a  Frenchman's 
heart,  for  they  are  quick  to 
imagine  a  lack  of  refinement  and  recoil 
under  the  aggressive  manners  of  the  Amer- 
ican officers.  It  is  necessary  to  observe 
what  seems  to  us  an  exaggerated  form  of 
politeness — a  regular  Alphonse  and  Gaston 
continuous  performance.  For  instance, 
upon  entering  an  office,  a  regular  round  of 
hand-shaking  ensues,  and  again  twice  be- 
fore leaving,  once  upon  starting  to  leave, 
and  after  much  more  conversation,  again 
upon  actually  departing. 

It  is  most  important  to  delicately  first 
gain  a  Frenchman's  confidence  by  agreeing 
with  his  point  of  view,  and  then  he  will 
usually  reciprocate  by  conceding  your  point 
of  view  and  granting  the  favor  requested. 
Frenchmen  are  rather  shy  of  the  rapidity 
with  which  Americans  do  business. 

The  poorest  way  to  make  haste  is  to  show 
an  indication  of  being  in  a  hurry,  or  by 
coming  directly  to  the  point,  for  one  saves 
time  in  the  long  run  by  going  over  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  preliminary  formalities  and 


72 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


lengthy    explanations    even    in    the    most 
urgent  matters. 

Most  affectionately,  your  devoted  son, 

FERD. 


Orleans,  Francf, 
May  1st, 

IQiS. 


73 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  Frmice,  May  srd,  iqi8. 


^^^  ERE    I    am     on     the     Staff    of 
General    de    TEspee,    command- 
ing    the     Fifth     French     Army 
Corps,    acting    as    assistant    to 
Captain  J.  Tarn  McGrew. 

The  shell  that  struck  the  Ste.  Gervaise 
church  in  Paris  Good  Friday  afternoon, 
kilhng  seventy-five  of  the  worshiping  con- 
gregation, hit  not  over  five  minutes'  walk 
from  the  American  Headquarters,  at  the 
Hotel  Mediterranee,  and  probably  was 
intended  for  us. 

Easter  Sunday  morning,  instead  of 
attending  divine  service,  I  visited  the 
Cathedral,  a  scene  of  horror  and  destruc- 
tion. The  shell  had  struck  the  arch  and 
exploded  over  the  main  nave,  causing  part 
of  the  stone  roof  to  collapse,  burying  the 
worshiping  congregation  under  tons  of 
rock.  It  was  in  a  pyramid,  ten  feet  high, 
like  a  great  funeral  pyre,  with  many  pieces 
of  rock  several  feet  square.  There  were 
half  dried  pools  of  blood  where  bodies  had 
been  crushed.  It  was  a  chance  hit,  and 
looked  like  the  hand  of  destiny,  striking  at 
this  moment  and  place  on  so  sacred  a 
day. 


74 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


People  were  feeling  pretty  blue,  and  the 
railway  stations  and  trains  were  jammed 
with  crowds  getting  away.  The  first  days 
of  the  bombardment  the  telephones  were 
stopped,  the  telegraph  offices  closed,  and 
the  railroad  stations  deserted  by  the  em- 
ployes. 

At  luncheon  Monday,  which  was  a  holi- 
day, at  the  Maurice,  every  one  seemed  gay, 
unmindful  of  the  city  being  shelled,  and 
that  one  of  the  greatest  battles  in  the  history 
of  mankind*  was  being  fought  at  a  distance 
slightly  greater  than  that  from  Elgin  to 
Chicago  or  Bridgeport  to  New  York.  Ten- 
sion was  relieved,  however,  at  better  news 
from  the  front,  where  things  had  been 
going  "not  at  all  well." 

An  unusual  thing  happened  several  days 
ago.  I  was  walking  up  the  street  with  the 
Provost  Marshal;  he  stopped  several  officers 
asking  where  they  were  going,  and  where 
from,  and  they  replied,  from  the  Artillery 
School  at  Saumur.  I  said,  "Why,  I  have 
a  cousin  there;  perhaps  you  know  him." 
Upon  further  inquiry,  I  found  there  were 
several  hundred  artillery  officers  at  the 
'station  on  their  way  to  the  front,  so  we 
walked  to  the  station  and  lo  and  behold! 
there  was  cousin   Ferd,   looking  well  and 

*This  was  during  the  Germans'  first  spring  drive  of  1918,  when 
the  Fifth  British  Army  was  destroyed. 


Orleans,  France, 
May  jri, 
IQiS. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

May  3rd, 

igiS. 


delighted  to  see  me.  The  train  pulled  out 
in  several  minutes  and  it  was  almost  like  a 
fleeting  apparition. 

They  were  a  wonderful  lot  of  fine  young 
thorobreds,  for,  as  you  know,  it  requires 
some  knowledge  of  mathematics  to  be  an 
artillery  oflicer,  and  they  were  probably  all 
college  boys. 

Devotedly, 

FERD. 


76 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France,  May  I2th,  igi8. 

OR  weeks  since  the  battle  started, 
one  can  go  down  to  the  railway 
station  in  this  small  city  any 
evening  and  see  crowds  of  desti- 
tute refugees  huddled  together  in  the  French 
Red  Cross  Military  Canteen  awaiting 
various  train  connections.  The  wretches, 
although  respectable  peasants  and  towns- 
people, feeble  old  men,  women  with 
dishevelled  hair,  and  dirty  children,  have 
fled  for  their  lives  before  the  bloodthirsty 
advancing  Huns.  They  are  huddled  to- 
gether like  dumb  animals  in  a  storm,  re- 
maining mute,  neither  complaining  nor 
begging.  They  are  transported  and  fed  by 
the  Government  and  conveyed  to  other 
towns,  where  they  again  seek  work  or  eke 
out  whatever  existence  they  can.  Bereft 
of  their  homes,  cottages,  stores,  gardens, 
and  all  their  worldly  goods  and  means  of 
subsistence,  their  meager  savings  of  a  life- 
time, and  perhaps  inheritances  of  several 
generations,  the  poor  wretches  still  almost 
have  an  appearance  of  **Are  we  down- 
hearted ?  Well,  I  guess  not."  The  babies 
and  younger  children  sleep  or  play,  for  they 
are  too  young  to  realize  the  tragedy,  and  the 
older  girls  and  mothers  have  a  resigned  or 


77 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

May  I2th, 

XQ18. 


despairing  look  of  taking  it  all  for  granted, 
as  if  it  were  only  natural  and  to  be  expected. 

They  have  become  accustomed  to  this 
after  four  years,  for  it  is  not  their  first 
experience  of  this  sort,  when  they  have 
been  driven  from  their  homes  and  their 
country  invaded  by  the  enemy. 

The  Belgian  refugees  are  unfortunately 
called  ''immigrants"  by  the  French  working 
classes.  They  have  not  received  the  most 
hospitable  haven  of  refuge  in  France,  as 
they  are  regarded  as  lazy.  At  the  time 
of  the  German  advance  through  Belgium, 
there  were  forty  thousand  Belgian  wounded 
dumped  on  London  in  one  week,  none  of 
whom  spoke  either  French  or  English,  but 
Flemish.  It  was  chaos.  The  mud  and 
dirt  was  caked  on  their  faces  and  bodies 
so  thick  it  had  to  be  soaked  loose  with 
vaseline. 

Such  sights  make  one  profoundly  happy 
for  the  very  privilege  of  living.  The  mere 
thought  of  being  clothed,  well  fed,  warm 
and  happy,  with  a  comfortable  place  to 
sleep  is  enough  to  make  one  glow  with 
thankfulness  that  fate  has  not  ordained 
this  for  him. 

The  station  is  usually  swarming  with 
French  "poilus,"  going  and  coming  from 
the  front.  You  know  the  meaning  of  the 
word  "poilu"  is  "hairy  boys,"  "poil"  mean- 


78 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


ing  "hair."  At  the  beginning  of  the  war, 
before  things  were  organized,  they  had  no 
chance  to  shave,  and  became  very  hairy. 
But  now  all  French  soldiers,  when  on  leave, 
have  a  clean  new  uniform  kept  for  the 
purpose,  and  they  are  forbidden  to  appear 
in  the  streets  in  their  dirty  trench  clothes. 

Brussels  is  used  as  a  clearing  house  by 
the  Germans  returning  from  the  front  on 
leave.  They  stop  there  for  two  days  to 
renovate.  This  is  in  order  to  prevent 
taking  home  too  strong  and  grimy  a  trench 
odor  with  all  its  sordidness.  Champagne 
is  drunk  freely  by  German  officers  in 
Brussels  to  liven  them  before  returning. 

Wounded  soldiers  are  no  longer  brought 
to  the  hospitals  of  Paris,  and  few  even  to 
the  big  Red  Cross  Hospital  at  Neuilly,  a 
suburb,  as  every  effort  is  made  to  maintain 
the  public  morale  as  cheerful  as  possible.  I 
understand  that  even  in  Dunkirk,  which  has 
been  constantly  shelled  for  two  years,  the 
trams  continue  to  run  and  business  goes 
on  as  usual.  People  have  heroically  moved 
their  bedrooms  to  the  cellars  and  "carry 
on." 

^  This  war  has  revealed  unexpected  na- 
tional traits  of  character.  The  French, 
who  are  normally  light  hearted  and  gay, 
forbid  dancing,  while  the  staid  English 
encourage  gaiety.     London  is  livelier  than 


Orleans,  France, 
May  I2th, 
1918. 


79 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 
May  I2tk, 


ever  with  dances  for  the  soldiers  on  leave 
from  the  front.  General  immorality  in 
France  is  surprisingly  lacking.  I  mean 
aside  from  the  regulars.  After  leaving  the 
stench  of  the  sea-ports,  Paris  appears  moral, 
and,  until  recently,  normal.  Poor  Paris 
is  no  longer  "Gai  Paree."  Most  of  the 
theaters,  excepting  perhaps  half  a  dozen, 
after  spasmodically  struggling  to  keep  open 
during  the  past  two  months'  bombardment, 
are  now  closed.  Some  evenings  they  were 
open  and  others  closed,  one  never  knowing 
in  advance,  depending  upon  the  violence  of 
the  previous  aerial  raid.  Frequently  they 
closed  during  the  performance,  when  the 
"alert"  was  sounded  and  everybody  scur- 
ried home  in  the  darkness,  as  best  they 
could,  or  descended  into  the  caves.  All 
theaters  have  explicit  directions  and  con- 
spicuous signs  posted  for  reaching  the 
"caves."  In  fact,  the  latest  is  a  theater  in 
a  cellar,  called  the  "Abri"— 'Refuge." 


Affectionately, 


FERD. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


American  Expeditionary  Forces 
Office  of  the  Liaison  Officer 

Orleans,  France,  May  2ist,  igi8. 


i 


i 


T'S  an  odd  coincidence;  you 
were  in  my  mind  this  morning 
/^  when  I  awoke,  and  I  looked  for 
your  letter  of  March  i  in  order 
to  write  you,  and  here  upon  my  arrival  at 
the  office  is  another  letter  which  I  am 
really  most  delighted  to  receive. 

Judging  from  your  letter,  life  is  going  on 
in  New  York  about  the  same  as  usual,  and 
it  is  astonishing  how  much  so  that  is  the 
case  here,  with  the  civilian  population. 

My  work  is  strictly  of  a  diplomatic 
nature,  between  the  French  military  au- 
thorities and  commanding  officers  of  Amer- 
ican troops  stationed  in  the  Fifth  Region. 
Owing  to  the  difference  in  customs,  tem- 
perament, and  viewpoint,  there  are  con- 
stantly many  complicated  and  delicate 
questions  arising  to  be  settled,  requiring 
the  greatest  tact.  Their  satisfactory  ad- 
justment without  friction  is  naturally  of 
the  utmost  importance,  and  it  is  the  work 
of  the  Liaison  Officers  to  be  persona  gratia 
with  the  French  and  to  supply  the  necessary 
drop  of  oil  to  insure  this. 


81 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

May  2 1  sty 

1918. 


The  American  Liaison  Service  was  organ- 
ized during  the  winter  by  Major  H.  H. 
Harjes  of  the  banking  firm  of  Morgan- 
Harjes,  and  of  the  former  Norton-Harjes 
Ambulance  Service,  before  it  was  absorbed 
by  the  Red  Cross,*  when  the  United  States 
entered  the  war.  Do  not  confuse  this  with 
the  Corps  of  Interpreters,  which  is  quite  a 
different  service.  The  Liaison  Service  con- 
sists only  of  officers,  mostly  Captains  and 
Majors,  and  some  Lieutenants.  It  was  the 
intention  to  have  nothing  less  than  Cap- 
tains; however,  the  War  Department  is 
reluctant  in  granting  the  increase  in  rank. 

As  paradoxical  as  it  may  seem,  commis- 
sions and  promotion  are  more  difficult  to 
secure  **over  here"  than  in  America.  Large 
numbers  of  officers  are  being  shipped  back 
who  have  not  made  good.  The  weeding 
process  is  severe,  and  officers  are  returned 
to  America  without  the  slightest  hesitancy 
when  considered  incompetent. 

I  am  on  the  road  in  my  army  car  three 
or  four  days  each  week,  which  is  most 
agreeable. 

By  looking  at  the  departmental  map  in 
the  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  you  can  see 
exactly  what  the  Fifth  Army  Corps  Region 
comprises:  the  Departments  of  Loiret,  Loir- 
et-Cher,  Yonne,  and  Seine-et-Marne.     In 

♦Later  by  the  American  Army. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


your  Baedeker  of  Northern  France  you  will 
see  the  garrison  town  of  Orleans  is  notable — 
in  addition  to  Jeanne  d'Arc — as  being  the 
headquarters  of  the  Fifth  Army  Corps. 
General  de  I'Espee  lives  in  a  governmental 
residence  similar  to  a  governor's  palace. 
There  are  over  a  hundred  thousand  French 
soldiers  in  the  Region  and  about  the  same 
number  of  Americans. 

My  work  is  never  two  days  alike,  and  my 
experiences  are  like  an  ever-changing  kalei- 
doscope. Last  Saturday,  I  accompanied 
the  French  General,  with  his  Chief  of 
Staff,  and  others  of  his  staff  officers  to  take 
part  in  the  ceremonies  of  the  christening  and 
flying  of  the  first  American  aeroplane  as- 
sembled in  France  at  Romarantin,  which 
was  quite  an  occasion — the  General  at  first 
giving  a  luncheon  for  the  members  of  his 
party. 

In  spite  of  your  finding  my  letters  inter- 
esting, I  can  write  only  in  a  superficial  way, 
and  am  compelled  to  omit  mentioning  many 
of  the  most  important  things,  or  only  speak 
of  them  in  a  casual  manner. 

Sincerely,  as  ever,  your  friend, 

FERD. 


Orleans,  France, 
May  2ist, 
1918. 


83 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France,  June  2nd,  igi8. 

^/-'h-f^OUR  charming  and  loving  letter 
of   April    28th,    from    the  farm, 


dp|  was  forwarded  from  Bourges  and 
received  on  the  25th.  It  was 
opened  by  the  French  censor.  I  endeavor 
to  send  you  a  descriptive  letter  about 
twice  a  month,  which  requires  some  time, 
as  there  is  no  stenographer  in  this  town 
able  to  even  copy  English  writing,  unless 
spelled  out  in  a  bold  school-boy  hand.  I 
always  like  to  mail  separate  copies  of  these 
letters  by  different  steamers,  as  some  are 
newsy,  and  may  fall  under  the  censor's  ax. 

This  is  a  mediocre,  uninteresting  French 
provincial  city  of  one  hundred  thousand,  re- 
taining none  of  its  former  medieval  splen- 
dor, with  the  exception  of  a  fine  old  cathe- 
dral, several  statues  and  a  museum.  The 
people  are  provincial  in  the  extreme,  and 
there  is  not  even  a  good  tourist  hotel. 

You  know  the  form  of  government  of 
France  tends  to  centralize  and  draw  all 
that  is  best  towards  Paris.  Everything 
radiates  from  Paris  like  the  spokes  of  a 
wheel,  even  the  railroads.  All  that  is 
worth  while  in  education,  wealth,  culture, 
ability  and  breeding  drains  into  Paris,  to 
such  an  extent  as  is  unknown  in  America. 


84 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


The  entire  governmental  machinery  is  con- 
structed with  this  in  view.  Civil  France  is 
divided  into  eighty-six  Departments,  cor- 
responding to  our  states  or  counties,  but 
instead  of  a  governor  elected  by  the  people, 
there  is  a  Prefer,  and  under  him  a  Sous- 
Prefet,  both  appointed  by  the  Minister  of 
Interior,  who  has  been  appointed  by  the 
President  of  France,  and  who  in  turn  was 
elected  by  popular  vote  of  the  people. 
While  it  is  a  representative  republican 
organization,  at  the  same  time  it  focuses 
all  in  a  very  powerful  centralized  govern- 
ment. Such  a  thing  as  ''states'  rights"  is 
unknown.  The  result  is  that  men  of 
ability  aspire  to  local  fame  merely  as  a 
stepping  stone. 

All  advancement  is  towards  Paris.  All 
large  banks  are  there.  The  Credit  Lyon- 
nais,  Comptoir  National,  Banque  de  France, 
and  Societe  Generale  handle  practically  all 
the  banking  business  of  France  thru  their 
hundreds  of  branches. 

There  are  no  colleges  or  universities  of 
international  importance  aside  from  the 
Sorbonne — University  of  Paris — where  there 
were  over  fifty  thousand  students  before 
the  war.  Instead  of  professors  and  other 
governmental  employments  remaining  lo- 
cally prominent  to  add  luster  to  their  home 


85 


Orleans,  France, 
June  2nd, 
1918. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

June  2nd, 

1918. 


cities,  they  are  advanced  toward  the 
Capital. 

Paris  is  the  Mecca  of  the  world  of  brains, 
wealth,  talent  and  beauty.  Artists  are 
paid  little,  as  they  are  willing  to  perform 
simply  for  the  name — in  fact,  they  must, 
otherwise  they  are  not  wanted  by  the 
Provinces. 

The  fact  is  that  most  prominent  Pari- 
sians, if  not  themselves  born  in  the  Prov- 
inces, their  parents  or  grandparents  were. 
The  difference  is  like  two  different  races. 
It  is  as  in  America;  they  quickly  lose  their 
provincialism  when  they  move  to  the 
Metropolis. 

Military  France  is  divided  into  twenty- 
two  Regions,  each  commanded  by  a  Lieu- 
tenant General  who,  with  his  staff  is  sta- 
tioned in  the  principal  city.  In  each  Region 
is  the  headquarters  of  an  Army  Corps. 
"Etat  Major,  5eme  Region,"  means  Staff 
Headquarters,  Fifth  Army  Corps.  This 
Region  comprises  four  departments  and  is 
one  of  the  most  central  and  important. 
The  commanding  general  of  each  Region 
occupies  a  prominent  position  and  has  the 
authority  of  a  small  potentate,  responsible 
directly  to  the  Minister  of  War. 

Very  devotedly, 

FERD. 


86 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France,  June  i8th,  igi8. 

UST  a  line  to  let  you  know  I  am 
well  and  happy  and  too  busy  to 
write.  I  have  been  fully  occu- 
pied during  the  past  two  weeks, 
since  temporarily  taking  over  the  office  of 
the  Provost  Marshal  on  June  5th,  which 
reminds  me  it  is  almost  that  long  since  I  last 
wrote.  My!  how  the  time  flies!  It  is 
incredible.  Of  course  we  are  all  very  happy 
over  the  American  successes,  because  it 
means  ultimate  victory.  But  we  are  pass- 
ing through  a  most  serious  phase  of  the 
war  this  summer,  as  the  Germans  realize 
it  is  Paris  now  or  never,  and  they  are 
making  a  superhuman  efl^ort  to  get  close 
enough  to  shell  the  Capital  with  heavy 
long-range  guns.  It  is  the  Americans  who 
have  temporarily  stopped  the  Germans 
and  given  them  a  rude  shock;  however,  the 
drives  are  expected  to  last  all  summer  or 
until  the  Germans  are  exhausted.  They 
bitterly  hate  the  Americans. 

I  am  unable  to  write  much  regarding  the 
ihilitary  situation,  as  it  is  too  serious.  Or- 
leans is  packed  to  overflowing  and  rooms 
impossible  to  get.  I  have  a  Corporal  out 
now  piloting  and  interpreting  for  a  dozen 
officers,  trying  to  get  them  rooms  in  private 


87 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 
June  i8th, 

IQiS. 


houses  for  the  night.  When  the  situation 
becomes  too  acute,  I  send  to  the  Mayor  and 
secure  ''billets  de  logement,"  which  means 
lodging  officers  in  private  homes  in  the 
name  of  the  law,  without  payment.  Thirty 
were  lodged  the  other  night.  They  marched 
up  the  street,  ringing  the  door-bells  of  the 
places  on  the  list,  and  handed  in  the  slips 
with  two  officers,  saying  'T  have  brought 
two  officers  to  be  lodged  for  the  night." 
The  householders  could  not  refuse. 

They  were  all  clean,  pleasant  homes  of 
the  better  class,  and  the  occupants  were  all 
hospitable  in  taking  in  the  American  officers. 

As  I  was  returning  from  a  motor  trip  the 
people  called  after  the  passing  car,  "God 
bless  you,"  and  the  little  children  enthusi- 
astically waved  greetings.  We  are  the  hope, 
i'espoir,  the  salvation,  and  they  know  it. 
The  fighting  qualities  of  our  troops  have 
been  a  revelation.  Our  men,  as  new  as  they 
are,  are  wonderful  fighters,  and  whereas 
there  was  previously  a  feeling  of  indifi^^erent 
tolerance,  there  is  now  one  of  actual  rever- 
ence for  us. 

Lots  of  love  to  you  all,  devotedly, 

FERD. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Fontainehleaii,  France,  July  20th,  igi8. 


^ 


HIS  beautiful  little  city,  not 
Wi  WBi  ^^  ^^^  from  the  fighting,  is 
y  ^^  peaceful,  except  for  swarming 
soldiers.  The  fine  hotels  which 
were  crowded  all  winter  are  deserted. 
People  are  fleeing  from  Paris  and  the  front. 
The  roads  contained  long  lines  of  wagons 
and  carts  of  all  sorts,  loaded  with  refugees, 
old  men,  women,  and  children,  furniture, 
household  utensils  of  every  description, 
cows,  dogs,  and  all  sorts  of  domestic  ani- 
mals, flying  before  the  onrushing  hordes 
like  birds  before  a  storm. 

One  marvels  at  their  almost  gay  look  of 
contentment.  The  psychology  is  that  after 
the  first  panic  at  the  news  of  the  approach- 
ing Germans  has  subsided,  and  they  have 
reached  safety,  a  temporary  reaction  sets 
in,  almost  a  gay  hysteria.  The  great  sorrow 
commences  after  the  excitement  of  the  flight 
is  past  and  they  settle  down  to  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  loss  of  all  their  worldly  posses- 
sions, and  years  of  poverty  and  miserable 
struggle  for  existence  that  lie  ahead. 

The  flight  has  been  stopped,  thank  God ! 
for  the  moment,  by  the  hardihood  and  in- 
trepid bravery  of  the  Americans.  The 
French  are  inclined  to  save  their  men,  but 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Fontainebleau, 

Franccy 

July  2oth, 

1918. 


Americans  threw  themselves  into  the  vortex 
of  the  fiery  furnace  and  fought  regardless 
of  loss  of  life,*  as  the  Germans  do,  deter- 
mined at  all  costs  to  stop  their  further 
advance  on  Paris. 

They  fought  with  the  dash  and  courage 
and  keen  resourcefulness  of  our  early  pioneer 
forefathers,  of  which  you  and  I  are  so 
justly  proud.  A  year's  simple  life  and 
outdoor  training  in  the  camps  of  America 
and  on  the  fields  of  France  has  again  devel- 
oped the  same  latent  qualities  of  stamina 
and  made  them  brawny,  sinewy  and  hard, 
able  to  stand  the  gruelling  strain  and  hard- 
ships of  the  battlefield. 

When  they  charge,  they  dash  forward 
with  the  abandon  as  if  in  a  foot-ball  game. 
They  frequently  throw  away  their  coats 
and  helmets,  rolling  up  their  sleeves,  to 
the  wonder  of  these  foreign  soldiers,  as  they 
shoot,  beat,  bayonet,  kill  and  annihilate 
everything  before  them  with  their  youth- 
ful strength  and  energy,  frequently  taking 
no  prisoners,**  which  has  terrorized  the 
Germans; but  don't  think  this  is  done  with- 
out heavy  losses. 

Would  that  I  could  open  up  and  tell  you 
of  all  that  is  going  on!  I  have  to  be  so 
guarded  in  what  I  say,  now  that  the  war  is 

*About  one-half  of  two  divisions  was  lost  at  Chdteau-Thierry. 
**Owing  to  German  treachery. 


90 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


at  the  most  furious  period  of  the  past  four 
years.  The  Germans,  gloating  over  their 
successes,  are  determined  to  bring  the  war 
to  a  victorious  finish  this  season  by  taking 
Paris,  and  later  cutting  the  American  lines 
of  communication,  before  our  full  strength 
can  be  brought  to  bear  next  year. 

Lots  of  love  to  you  all. 

Very  devotedly, 

FERD. 


Fontainebleau, 
France, 
July  20th, 
1918. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France,  Jnly  22nd,  igiS. 


m 


HE  time  is  racing  by  so  rapidly 
it  seems  impossible  to  keep  ac- 
^3_^^  count  of  it.  I  have  been  con- 
stantly in  the  midst  of  a  whirl 
since  taking  over  the  office  of  Provost  Mar- 
shal, in  addition  to  my  regular  liaison  duties, 
attending  and  officiating  at  functions  of 
all  kinds,  including  luncheons,  funerals, 
church  memorial  services,  athletic  events, 
receiving  guests,  military  reviews,  etc., 
particularly  in  connection  with  the  cele- 
brations on  the  4th  and  14th  of  July,  which 
were  elaborate. 

I  was  busy  for  days  in  advance  with  the 
French  Staff  arranging  the  all-day  programs 
for  these  days.  The  French  are  fond  of 
fetes  and  ceremonies  and  are  anxious  to 
render  all  the  homage  possible  to  Americans 
on  every  possible  occasion.  They  have 
found  it  easy  to  handle  American  business 
through  me,  so  I  am  called  upon  for  every 
possible  kind  of  service. 

On  July  14th,  the  French  military  review 
and  the  awarding  of  decorations  was  held 
by  General  de  I'Espee.  The  American 
Brigadier  General  Vollrath  was  here  from 
Saint  Aignan  with  a  band  of  fifty  pieces 


92 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


and  a  color  guard  of  sixty.  The  review 
was  held  with  a  great  deal  of  pomp  and 
ceremony. 

I  spent  the  entire  afternoon  and  evening 
of  the  previous  day  informally  with  General 
Vollrath  and  his  aid,  showing  them  all  the 
historical  points  of  interest  in  Orleans,  later 
dining  and  attending  the  theater  together. 
When  we  entered  it  was  announced  from 
the  stage  that  an  American  General  had 
arrived  and  the  national  anthems  of  Amer- 
ica and  France  were  played,  while  the 
audience  stood. 

After  the  review  at  nine  a.  m.  we  went 
to  the  only  Protestant  church,  where 
memorial  services  had  been  arranged. 
The  church  was  small  and  unimportant, 
as  the  powerful  churches  are  Catholic ;  how- 
ever a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  chaplain  preached  an 
inspiring  sermon.  The  French  pastor  spoke 
in  French,  and  American  hymns  were  sung 
by  a  choir  of  American  soldiers. 

At  noon  a  formal  luncheon  was  given  by 
General  de  I'Espee*  for  nine  American  and 
nine  French  officers,  including  four  Generals, 
the  Mayor  of  Orleans  and  the  Prefet.**  It 
was  a  most  distinguished  gathering,  and 
although  I  was  the  only  officer  of  modest 

*At  the  commencement  of  the  war  he  was  the  foremost 
Cavalry  General  in  France,  but  with  the  introduction  of  trench 
warfare  his  cavalry  divisions  were  dismounted. 

**Local  Governor. 


93 


Orleans,  France, 
July  22nd, 
1918. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans^  France, 

July  22nd, 

J918. 


rank  present,  I  was  treated  with  the  same 
kindness  and  respect  as  the  Generals  them- 
selves. The  other  American  officers  were 
given  a  luncheon  at  the  officers'  club.  Dur- 
ing the  luncheon  the  band  played  in  the 
square  in  front  of  the  hotel,  and  afterwards, 
during  coffee,  we  went  out  on  the  balcony 
overlooking  the  crowd,  like  royalty.  The 
public  square  below  was  filled  with  thou- 
sands of  cheering  people. 

At  three  o'clock  athletic  events  were  held 
between  the  French  and  Americans  at 
which  the  Americans  took  all  first  prizes. 
There  were  also  boxing  matches.  General 
Vollrath  had  brought  with  him  a  track 
team  of  fifteen,  who  had  captured  all  the 
honors  at  Paris  on  the  Fourth.  There  was 
an  enormous  crowd  of  thousands  of  specta- 
tors and  I  was  the  day's  master  of  cere- 
monies for  the  Americans,  while  a  French 
Major  had  charge  of  the  French. 

At  five-thirty  the  doctors  held  a  recep- 
tion to  inaugurate  the  opening  of  the  new 
two  thousand-bed  hospital.  Base  202.  At 
seven-thirty  the  French  medical  officers 
gave  a  dinner  to  the  American  officers,  at 
which  there  was  much  after-dinner  speak- 
ing and  eulogistic  praise  exchanged. 

The  Fourth  of  July  was  even  a  bigger  day 
then    the    Fourteenth.     The    Fourth    was 


94 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


arranged  in  our  honor  by  the  French  and 
we  reciprocated  on  the  Fourteenth. 

Since  starting  to  write,  I  have  received 
an  emergency  'phone  call  from  one  of  the 
many  small  villages,  where  we  are  requisi- 
tioning horses,  to  send  an  ambulance  for  a 
soldier  kicked  and  unconscious  and  in  bad 
condition.  We  are  requisitioning  five  thou- 
sand horses  in  this  Region  in  five  weeks, 
taking  them  out  of  the  harvest  fields  to 
the  consternation  of  the  farmers.  The 
horse  question  is  most  acute,  as  it  has  sud- 
denly developed  that  enormous  numbers 
are  needed  to  move  supplies  where  motors 
cannot  be  used  at  the  front.  The  British 
lost  fifty  thousand  when  their  Fifth  Army 
was  destroyed  in  the  spring.  And  now 
the  French  are  scouring  the  country  for 
fifty  thousand  in  response  to  our  emergency 
call.  Lieut.  Lydig  Hoyt  has  charge  in  this 
Region,  and  Lieut.-Colonel  Richard  H.  Wil- 
liams, Jr.,  as  head  of  the  Remount  Service, 
and  both  Liaison  Officers,  has  entire  charge. 

French  'phone  connection  is  interminabl)^ 
slow,  so  I  walked  over  to  the  new  American 
hospital,  to  get  an  ambulance,  where  the 
reception  was  held  on  the  Fourteenth  and 
the  first  batch  of  four  hundred  wounded 
was  received  on  the  sixteenth.  It's  a  sight 
horrible  enough  to  weaken  the  stanchest 
heart. 


95 


Orleans,  France, 
July  22nd, 
1918. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

July  22nd, 

1918. 


The  small  staff  of  doctors  and  nurses  are 
working  day  and  night.  Fortunately  there 
are  several  hundred  hospital  orderlies  and 
men  to  assist.  These  soldiers,  with  the 
most  horrible  wounds,  many  of  which  I  saw 
dressed,  some  minus  arms  or  legs,  and  who 
were  in  the  battle  of  Monday  the  fifteenth,* 
are  positively  looking  fine  and  are  in  splen- 
did spirits.  A  peculiar  psychological  fact  is 
that  wounded  men  with  amputations  ex- 
press no  regrets  for  the  parts  lost,  and  seem 
always  cheerful.  I  have  frequently  noticed 
this  with  the  French;  but  to  see  these  big, 
fine  specimens  of  American  manhood  lying 
there,  mangled  and  amputated,  without  ut- 
tering a  murmur  of  complaint  or  remorse, 
and  suffering  the  most  intense  agony  when 
their  gaping  wounds  are  dressed,  is  enough 
to  make  one  offer  up  a  silent  prayer  to  Al- 
mighty God. 

I  am  accustomed  to  hear  men  complain 
in  camp,  but  after  living  through  this 
purge  of  fire  they  come  out  of  it  purer  and 
more  noble.  War  is  a  terrific  purifier  and 
purger  of  men's  souls. 

Lots  of  love  to  you  all  from  your  devoted 
son, 

FERD. 


*At  Chftteau-Thierry. 


96 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans^  France,  July  2'jth,  IQ18. 

HAVE  just  returned  from  the 
hospital  and  find  your  charming 
letter  of  July  8th  on  my  desk. 
Your  letters  and  those  of  some 
of  my  friends  are  a  wonderful  incentive  and 
inspiration  to  maintain  one's  spirits  and  to 
keep  up  the  good  work.  The  appreciation 
and  admiration  of  those  one  loves  is  a  won- 
derful stimulus,  and  is  really  all  we  live  for 
over  here,  and  is  what  many  are  dying  for. 
Another  American  sanitary  train  load  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty,  mostly  seriously 
wounded,  arrived  last  night  from  the  front. 
They  were  in  the  battle  Monday.  I  was 
at  the  station  and  it  was  a  wonderful  sight. 
I  say  wonderful  in  the  sense  of  awe-inspiring, 
sublime,  to  see  these  great  steel  cars, 
especially  built  by  us  for  use  on  these  small 
railroads — plainly  painted  and  simply  let- 
tered "U.  S.,"  with  nothing  more — smoothly 
gliding  and  bearing  its  load  of  suffering, 
burned  and  mangled  human  freight  on 
stretchers.  These  hardy,  brave  and  un- 
complaining Americans  are  made  of  the 
same  sturdy  stuff  that  made  our  fore- 
fathers famous  at  Lexington,  and  made 
them  push  later  as  pioneers  across  the  wild 
prairies  of  the  Middle  West. 


97 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

July  27th, 

J918. 


As  a  little  group  of  us  stood  silently 
around  the  cars,  the  hospital  orderlies  and 
attendants  worked  quietly  and  swiftly,  gen- 
tly lifting  the  stretchers  from  the  cars,  with 
scarcely  a  word  and  without  confusion. 
The  officers  were  all  in  one  car,  about 
twenty,  including  a  desperately  wounded 
Colonel  and  Major.  But  there  was  nothing 
to  distinguish  them;  all  were  treated  alike. 
There  was  never  a  harsh  or  rough  word; 
all  were  spellbound  by  the  solemnity  of 
these  wounded  heroes  returning  from  the 
field  of  battle.  Each  man  was  well  band- 
aged, wore  pajamas,  and  was  wrapped  in  a 
blanket.  They  lay  silently  on  their  stretch- 
ers, looking  worn  and  pale  in  spite  of  their 
heavy  coating  of  tan,  never  moaning  nor 
uttering  a  word  except  occasionally  in  reply 
to  a  question  from  the  stretcher-bearers. 
One  boy  of  not  over  nineteen,  who  had  one 
leg  shot  away  and  the  other  badly  wounded, 
simply  said,  when  they  tried  to  make  him 
comfortable,  **Go  easy,  pals,  I'm  suffering 
a  little,"  and  thanked  them. 

The  first  train  load  of  wounded,  which 
arrived  a  week  ago,  was  mostly  gas  cases, 
some  light;  but  as  Major  Bishop  in  com- 
mand said  to-day,  these  are  a  lot  of  very 
seriously  wounded.  This  mustard  gas  is  a 
dastardly  and  damnable  thing,  frightfully 


98 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


blistering  and  burning  the  body,  especially 
in  the  moist  and  hairy  places,  and  making 
the  most  horrible  sores.  If  enough  gets  into 
the  lungs,  it  kills  either  at  once  or  by  a  long 
and  horrible,  lingering  death.  It  burns  the 
lining  membrane  on  the  inside,  and  causes 
the  most  horrible  agony  when  on  the  out- 
side. In  talking  with  some  of  the  cases 
to-day  that  were  burned  twelve  days  ago, 
and  are  still  suffering  intensely  and  linger- 
ing between  life  and  death,  they  said  they 
would  far  rather  lose  an  arm  or  leg.  It 
is  like  being  horribly  burned  by  fire,  and 
after  suffering  for  days,  and  the  nerves  and 
human  endurance  are  exhausted,  dying. 

The  installation  and  management  of  the 
hospital  are  nothing  short  of  marvelous  in 
so  short  a  time.  Of  course,  it  was  a  well 
organized  base  hospital  unit  that  was  sent 
from  the  States  with  full  equipment.  But 
they  walked  into  the  bare,  barren  former 
Archbishop's  palace,  which  was  used  as  a 
library,  carried  out  the  one  hundred  thou- 
sand volumes,  scrubbed  and  cleaned  the 
place  and  set  up  their  equipment.  The 
iron  beds  and  mattresses  and  springs  and 
bedding  are  of  the  best  for  the  purpose. 
They  had  five  men  on  the  tables  at  a  time 
in  the  operating  room  last  night.  There 
are  even  two  dentists'  chairs  with  full  equip- 
ment, and  likewise  a  very  fine  X-ray  outfit. 


99 


Orleans,  Francf, 
July  27th, 
1918. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

July  27th, 

1918. 


This  is  not  a  gay  subject,  but  a  very  im- 
portant part  of  the  war — much  more  so,  and 
on  a  larger  scale  than  one  at  first  imagines. 
They  usually  figure  on  a  number  of  beds 
equal  to  ten  per  cent  of  the  army,  which 
means  hospitalization  on  a  staggering  scale. 

I  am  happy  to  know  the  nation  at  home 
is  stanchly  behind  us,  as  you  say  and  as  is 
shown  by  the  enormous  number  of  well- 
equipped  and  trained  troops  arriving 
monthly.  You  can  hardly  imagine  with 
what  a  sense  of  relief  we  see  the  pendulum 
starting  to  swing  the  other  way. 

One  of  the  men  who  arrived  last  night 
says  they  took  two  German  prisoners,  who 
were  women,  chained  to  a  cannon  to  make 
them  fight.  This  sounds  far-fetched,  hardly 
reasonable.  But  the  fact  is  there  are  a 
great  many  young  boys  of  fifteen  or  sixteen 
among  the  German  troops,  who  when  cap- 
tured offer  no  resistance  and  throw  up  their 
hands,  crying  for  mercy  and  "Kamerad." 

Next  week  I  will  have  two  gold  service 
chevrons  on  the  sleeve  of  my  left  forearm, 
for  a  year's  service  in  France. 

Poor  little  Jimmie!  This  country  is  full 
of  dogs.  I  have  never  before  seen  so  many. 
The  other  day,  I  saw  six  or  eight  in  one 
bunch,  of  all  breeds,  trotting  along  dog- 
fashion,  mindless  of  the  war.  There  seems 
to  be  plenty  of  food — at  least  for  the  dogs — 


100 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


and  the  French  resent  it  if  one  suggests  kill- 
ing some  of  the  dogs.  They  must  have  their 
dogs  loose  and  without  muzzles,  even  if  it 
is  war!  You  may  tell  Jimmie  that  dogs 
here  look  upon  autos  with  disdain,  and  make 
them  turn  out  of  their  way. 

Lots  of  love  to  you  all,  from  your  devoted 
son, 

FERD. 


Orleans,  France, 
July  27th, 
191S. 


101 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


m 


Paris,  Francey  Aug.  J2th,  iqi8. 

RETURNED  last  night  after 
a  magnificent  week  at  the  sea- 
shore at  Deauville,*  feeling  re- 
freshed both  mentally  and  phys- 
ically; the  first  leave  in  a  year.  This  week 
was  like  a  cooling  drink  of  fresh  spring  water 
to  a  parched  man.  You  cannot  imagine  the 
elation  and  sense  of  relief  to  have  absolutely 
nothing  to  do  but  amuse  oneself  and  to  be 
free  from  military  duties  after  so  long  and 
steady  a  grind. 

Despite  the  belief  in  America  the  whole 
of  the  French  male  population  is  not 
fighting  at  the  front.  While  there  was  no 
dancing  nor  gambling  nor  Hungarian  or- 
chestras in  the  restaurants,  there  were  still 
a  lot  of  charming  and  well  dressed  people 
taking  their  summer  holidays.  Owing  to 
the  fear  of  submarines,  the  north  coast  is 
not  packed  as  is  the  case  at  Biarritz. 

There  were  a  lot  of  beautiful  women  from 
all  classes,  a  number  of  handsome  British 
officers,  as  this  is  in  their  zone  and  there  is 
a  large  camp  nearby,  and  a  sprinkling  of 
French  and  Americans  on  "leave."  How- 
ever, most  of  the  American  oflricers,  and 
there  are  a  lot  of  them  now,  do  not  get 

*C()rrcsponds  to  Newport. 


102 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


beyond  Paris,  as  they  prefer  to  remain  there 
and  are  not  familiar  with  the  beautiful 
places  in  the  country. 

It  seems  that  almost  all  the  people  I 
know  in  France  were  there,  at  least  the 
most  interesting  ones,  and  I,  as  usual,  had 
a  wonderful  time,  free  from  anxiety  and 
responsibility.  It  really  brought  me  back 
to  the  realization  that  there  was  once  a 
time  when  all  of  life  was  not  war.  The 
wonderful  communiques  of  the  brilliant 
successes  of  our  troops  have  again  made 
everyone  take  a  new  lease  on  life  and  feel 
almost  light-hearted  and  gay. 

The  French  women  try  to  believe  this  is 
the  end,  as  they  really  crave  peace  at  any 
price;  but  no  American  here  cajoles  him- 
self into  the  belief  the  job  can  be  finished 
before  Marechal  Foch  makes  his  grand  of- 
fensive in  the  spring  of  1919,  which  will  no 
doubt  take  all  of  next  summer.  The  war 
has  become  a  habit  and  steady  grind.  We 
are  no  longer  thinking  of  advancement  and 
honors.  Each  individual  is  a  very  small 
infinitesimal  part  of  this  great  swirling  and 
seething  mass,  as  we  have  long  since  learned, 
each  plugging  away  and  keeping  up  the 
steady  pressure. 

Among  others,  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
meeting   and    knowing   well   at    Deauville 


103 


Paris,  France, 
Aug.  I2th, 
IQ18. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France, 

Aug.  I2th, 

IQ18. 


were  Baron*  Henri  de  Rothschild,  owner  of 
the  magnificent  home  where  the  Inter- 
Allied  Club  is  quartered  in  the  Faubourg 
St.  Honore;  Baron  Maurice  de  Rothschild; 
Mme.  Bernstein,  wife  of  the  play\\Tight, 
young  and  beautiful;  Mme.  and  Mile. 
Vesnitch,  wife  and  daughter  of  the  Servian 
minister;  the  Persian  minister  himself;  Mme. 
Frangois  Darblay,  the  young  and  beau- 
tiful wife  of  one  of  the  richest  ammunition 
manufacturers  in  France;  Etienne  Bunau- 
Varilla,  son  of  the  owner  of  the  "Matin"; 
Baron  de  Wardener;  M.  Letellier,  former 
owner  of  the  Paris  "Journal";  the  opera 
singer,  Mile.  Merentie,  who  is  coming  to 
the  Metropolitan  after  the  war;  and  Lieut. 
Paul  Jentien  with  whom  I  went  and  whose 
mother-in-law  has  a  beautiful  villa.  So 
you  see  I  was  in  no  sense  lonely.  Most  of 
these  names  mean  nothing  to  you  but  are 
all  prominent  in  France. 

Lieut.  Jentien,  who  has  charge  of  repair 
parts  for  American  cars  in  the  French 
Army,  of  which  there  are  many  thousands, 
says  the  Pierce-Arrow  is  the  best  truck 
built,  but  is  partial  to  the  Ford  for  light 
work  on  account  of  its  extreme  cheapness 
and  small  loss  in  case  it  is  wrecked  or 
struck  by  a  shell. 

*Major. 


104 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


The  enclosed  telegram  called  me  back  a 
day  sooner  than  I  had  expected  and  means 
another  advancement,  in  that  there  were 
two  Liaison  Officers  at  Orleans,  Captain 
Tarn  McGrew,  uncle  of  Mimi  Scott,  and 
myself.  He  has  been  transferred  to  the 
front,  attached  to  General  Gouraud,  com- 
manding the  Fourth  Army. 

I  had  already  asked  to  be  relieved  as 
Provost  Marshal,  as  the  double  work 
was  more  than  I  could  handle,  and  the 
Liaison  Service  is  more  important,  being  of 
a  diplomatic  nature.  I  call  it  the  "Mili- 
tary Diplomatic  Service." 

I  had  luncheon  to-day  at  Giro's  with  three 
Marine  Corps  Captains,  who  have  been 
through  the  most  desperate  of  the  fighting, 
and  Mrs.  Swift  Fernald,  who  is  nursing  at 
the  Red  Cross  Hospital  at  Neuilly. 

They  say  that  Hennen  Le  Gendre  has 
distinguished  himself  for  bravery  and  is 
making  good.  He  advanced  alone  under 
machine  gun  fire  several  hundred  feet  to  a 
wounded  soldier  calling  for  help  and  carried 
him  back  to  safety  on  his  back.  He  is  very 
powerful,  as  you  know.  He  is  adjutant  to 
the  commanding  officer  of  the  Third  Battal- 
ion of  the  Fifth  Regiment  Marines  with 
which  we  came  over.  He  was  commis- 
sioned shortly  after  I  was.  The  fates  of 
war  have  scattered  the  three  of  us  who 


105 


Paris,  France, 
Aug.  I2th, 
1918. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France, 
Aug.  J2th, 

JQiS. 


came  over  together,  Gus,  Hennen  and  me 
to  the  four  winds.  We  have  all  made  good 
and  secured  our  commissions  wherever  we 
could.  Gus  was  commissioned  in  the  En- 
gineer Corps  and  is  transport  officer  at 
one  of  the  ports.  I  am  commissioned  in 
the  Infantry  and  Hennen  in  the  Marines. 
Before  spring  I  hope  to  be  transferred  to 
the  front  so  as  to  take  part  in  Marechal 
Foch's  big  final  drive. 


Lots  of  love  from, 


FERD. 


106 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Staff  Headquarters,  French  Fifth 
Army  Corps 

Orleans^  France,  Ang.  2jth,  igi8. 

INCE  returning  from  Deauviile 
I  am  more  engrossed  in  my 
fascinating  work  than  ever, 
keenly  enjoying  every  moment. 
While  away  I  spent  thirty-six  hours  on 
the  U.  S.  S.  Matsonia  at  Brest  with  brother 
Jack  and  his  pals,  having  a  very  pleasant 
visit.  Brest  is  as  unattractive  as  all  the 
other  seaport  cities. 

This  is  where  the  largest  U.  S.  transports 
come  in,  including  the  colossal  ships  taken 
over  from  the  Germans,  as  it  is  the  only 
sufficiently  deep-water  harbor  assigned  to 
the  Americans.  Before  the  war,  Brest  was 
closed  to  Trans-Atlantic  shipping,  and  was 
reserved  exclusively  for  a  FVench  Naval 
Base. 

The  smaller  freighters  land  at  the  miles 
of  modern  wooden  docks,  built  by  us  for 
the  purpose  at  Bordeaux,  which  is  forty 
miles  from  the  coast  up  the  Gironde  River. 
I  have  really  achieved  by  a  most  unfore- 
seen route  a  long-cherished  desire  to  enter 
the  diplomatic  service.  Cutting  loose  from 
placid  Long  Island  surroundings,  and  en- 


107 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

Aug.  2Sth, 

J0i8. 


listing  in  the  Marines,  I  was  buffeted  about 
as  a  Corporal  on  this  foaming  sea  of 
humanity,  unrecognized  and  unknown, 
until,  thanks  to  the  judgment  of  Major 
Straight  I  was  brought  to  the  attention  of 
the  banker.  Major  Harjes,  to  whom  was 
entrusted  the  delicate  task  of  forming  a 
Diplomatic  Liaison  Service  with  the  French 
Army.  This  service  was  already  in  exist- 
ence under  the  guiding  hands  of  such  able 
men  as  Tardieu,  from  the  French  side,  in 
that  French  Officers  known  as  ''French 
Mission"  were  attached  to  our  organiza- 
tions. However,  Major  Harjes'  work  was  to 
attach  American  officers  to  the  French  Staffs. 

The  "Sammie"  is  loved  by  the  French,  be- 
cause he  is  a  fine  soldier  and  is  wrenching  a 
devastated  land  from  the  grasp  of  a  treach- 
erous enemy,  and  because  he  is  at  the  same 
time  modest.  The  French  press  has  de- 
voted so  much  laudatory  space  to  Ameri- 
cans that  the  awkward  tone  of  occasional 
apologetic  articles  complimentary  to  the 
English,  who  are  not  personally  liked  by 
the  French,  is  positively  amusing. 

With  much  love  to  you  all, 

Devotedly,  your  son, 

FERD. 


108 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France,  Sept.  JS^h,  igiS. 

SOUR  two  wonderful  and  sustain- 
ing letters  of  August  19th  and 
22nd  came  this  morning,  just  as 
I  was  beginning  to  wonder  when 
I  would  again  hear  from  you.  You  know 
your  letters  are  like  oil  on  a  flame.  It  re- 
minds me  of  Al  Jolson  of  the  Winter  Garden 
who,  when  he  has  kept  the  house  in  roars  of 
laughter  for  an  hour,  says,  "That's  it!  Ap- 
plaud some  more  and  I  will  kill  myself!" 
That's  the  spirit  of  all  the  boys  over  here, 
and  is  what  makes  them  unhesitatingly  face 
death  for  the  applause  of  the  loved  ones  at 
home.  The  great  majority  are  thoroly 
yearning  for  home,  and  want  to  hurr}^  to 
finish  the  job,  because,  despite  their  home- 
sickness, no  one  considers  for  a  moment 
returning  before  Germany  is  thoroly 
crushed  and  brought  pleading  to  her  knees. 
We  do  not  seriously  expect  the  war  to  finish 
before  another  bloody  season.  Unless  Ger- 
many unexpectedly  collapses  and  is  con- 
sumed by  internal  war  and  revolution,  there 
will  be  the  most  desperate  fighting  of  all 
when  we  reach  the  German  lairs  beyond  the 
frontier.  I  expect  it  to  end  in  one  awful 
internal  convulsion. 


109 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

Sept.  15th, 

1918. 


Since  Captain  McGrew  went  to  the  front, 
I  have  a  mass  of  work  to  attend  to.  This 
region  extends  from  twenty-five  miles  north 
of  Paris  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
south  and  roughly  one  hundred  and  fifty 
east  and  west,  taking  in  part  of  the  front. 

Saturday,  Brigadier  General  Scott  came 
from  Saint  Aignan  with  his  Chief  of  Staff 
to  pay  a  formal  call  and  take  luncheon 
with  General  de  I'Espee.  There  were  also 
several  other  high  officers  at  luncheon, 
besides  Madame  and  Mademoiselle  de 
I'Espee. 

Yesterday  morning,  upon  returning  from 
Paris,  I  found  Major-General  Bailly,  who 
had  motored  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
miles  from  Tonnerre,  with  his  Chief  of 
Staff.  After  luncheon,  we  held  a  small 
private  conference  at  the  Quartier  General, 
General  de  I'Espee's  combined  headquar- 
ters and  home. 

Devotedly,  your  son, 

FERD. 


no 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans^  France,  Sept.  20th,  igi8. 

HILE  in  Paris,  the  other  day,  I 
bumped  into  Hennen  Le  Gendre 
]  looking  happy  and  well,  but 
more  serious  than  of  yore.  It's 
a  miracle  how  I  run  into  friends  by  the 
merest  chance.  There  must  be  a  lot  of 
them  over  here.  He  had  seen  Ferdie  III, 
who  is  also  in  the  Second  Division,  at  the 
front  a  month  before,  looking  dirty,  cooty 
and  rough  but  happy. 

Hennen  has  been  through  the  thickest  of 
all  the  fighting  with  the  Fifth  Marines,  and 
has  seen  his  brother  officers  and  men  blown 
to  pieces  by  bursting  shells — the  same  ones 
I  knew  so  well. 

The  Marines  and  the  balance  of  the 
Second  Division  who  are  used  as  shock- 
troops  have  had  no  rest,  and  are  rushed 
from  one  battle-front  to  another  to  storm 
the  enemy  and  to  instill  heroism  and 
desperate  fighting  qualities  into  less  ex- 
perienced troops.  For  days,  at  Chateau- 
Thierry,  they  fought  and  advanced  so 
rapidly  they  were  separated  from  the  soup 
field-kitchens  and  slept  uncovered  in  shot- 
swept  shell-holes,  covered  with  lice,  filth 
and  vermin. 


Ill 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

Sept.  20th, 

IQl8. 


We  both  enlisted  together,  expecting  to 
remain  together  in  the  Marine  Corps,  and 
after  struggling  for  a  commission  in  the 
Marines,  I  was  given  one  in  the  Infantry 
and  landed  in  a  staff  position.  Hennen 
said,  "For  God's  sake,  Ferdie,  don't  try  any 
longer  to  get  to  the  front.  Take  it  from 
me,  as  a  sincere  friend,  and  stay  where  you 
are,  where  you  are  rendering  better  service 
than  you  could  elsewhere.  The  horrors 
have  no  glamor,  and  I  constantly  hope  I 
will  not  return  home  terribly  maimed,  with- 
out arms  or  legs,  or  blind  in  both  eyes." 
Hennen  has  the  Distinguished  Service  Cross 
for  bravery.  The  neck  of  the  friend  with 
him,  and  who  dined  with  us,  was  covered 
with  sores  from  mustard  gas,  which  had 
penetrated  to  the  moist,  perspiring  skin  be- 
tween his  collar  and  gas-mask.  This  gas  is 
in  the  shape  of  a  very  fine  powder,  and 
must  be  dissolved  by  moisture  to  become 
active. 

Pardon  me  if  I  seem  to  dwell  on  unpleas- 
ant subjects,  but  I  know  you  want  un- 
biased accounts  of  actual  war  facts  and 
conditions,  and  are  also  interested  in  hear- 
ing at  length  about  myself. 


Lots  of  love  to  all,  from 


FERD. 


112 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France,  Sept.  2Qth,  igi8. 

N  elaborate  luncheon  and  fete, 
press  clippings  of  which  are 
enclosed,  was  recently  given  by 
the  French  to  inaugurate  the 
opening  of  the  Thousandth  French  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  Canteen  at  Cercottes.  The  American 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  has  donated  five  million  dollars 
for  this  purpose.  Twenty  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
representatives  and  newspaper  men  ar- 
rived from  Paris  in  a  private  car  for  the 
occasion. 

The  tank  instruction  camp  of  the  French 
Army  is  at  Cercottes,  and  after  luncheon 
the  small  six-ton,  two-men  Renault  tanks 
were  put  through  their  trench  and  hill- 
climbing  maneuvers  for  the  Americans, 
who  were,  much  to  their  amusement,  per- 
mitted to  experience  the  novelty  of  riding 
in  them.  To  watch  these  small  war  ma- 
chines, almost  like  huge  beetles,  suddenly 
wheel  and  turn  in  their  own  length  and 
climb  and  descend  nearly  perpendicular 
embankments,  is  fascinating.  They  oper- 
ate in  fleets  of  twenty-five  with  a  large 
"mother"  tank  to  break  down  the  sides  of 
trenches  too  broad  or  deep  for  them  to 
negotiate.  Some  are  equipped  with  wire- 
less, some  with  machine  guns,  while  others 


113 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

Sept.  29th, 

1918. 


have   short   75s,   used  to  throw  explosive 
bombs  to  blow  up  machine-gun  nests. 

The  French  expect  to  have  twenty  thou- 
sand of  these  small,  deadly  engines  in  the 
field  next  spring.  The  larger  forty-ton 
tanks  were  not  a  success,  as  they  were  too 
awkward  and  more  readily  hit  by  the 
enemy's  shell-fire. 

Affectionately, 

FERD. 


114 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans^  France,  Oct.  loth,  igi8. 

|HE  arrival  of  hospital  trains  of 
freshly  wounded  has  become  a 
matter  of  such  regular  and  al- 
most daily  occurrence  that  I  no 
longer  pay  much  attention  to  them.  How- 
ever, Major  Bishop,  who  is  a  friend,  and 
who  commands  the  three  thousand-bed 
Base  Hospital  No.  202,  informed  me  of  the 
arrival  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  marines, 
thinking  I  might  see  some  pals.  There  is  a 
great  brotherhood  among  soldiers  far  from 
home,  as  they  are  dependent  on  each  other, 
and  form  many  warm  companionships. 

Major  Bishop  said  they  were  the  finest  lot 
he  had  ever  seen,  and  was  enthusiastic  in 
their  praises.  He  believes,  incidentally,  that 
the  usual  work  over  here  unfits  surgeons  for 
civil  practice,  as  they  become  careless  in 
performing  operations  by  the  wholesale, 
and  operate  under  conditions  that  civilians 
could  not  survive.  The  men  are  brought 
in  like  great  husky,  wounded  animals,  able 
to  stand  almost  anything.  They  are  all 
X-rayed  to  locate  bullets  and  pieces  of 
shrapnel,  and  are  etherized  and  operated 
on  without  that  usual  ghastly  pallor.  Even 
the  following  day  they  have  good  color  and 
are  gay  in  spite  of  the  daily  agony  when 


115 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

Oct.  loth, 

1918. 


their  wounds  are  freshly  packed  and  dressed. 
They  recover  rapidly  and  are  transferred 
to  nearby  convalescent  camps,  where  they 
loll  in  the  sunshine  like  healthy  pups. 

The  war  is  making  some  millions  of 
sturdy,  healthy  young  men,  who,  when  not 
fighting,  have  developed  a  love  for  loafing, 
and  many  of  whom  will  never  wish  to  again 
settle  down  to  monotonous  steady  work. 

To  talk  with  these  fellows  is  refreshing. 
They  are  free  from  any  blatant  manner, 
and  so-called  yearning  to  get  to  the  front 
to  kill  Germans.  These  men  who  have 
charged  machine-gun  nests  with  bombs, 
bayonets  and  shot-guns,  slept  in  shell- 
craters,  and  subsisted  on  **iron  rations," 
and  dirty  water,  and  again  have  charged 
the  enemy  at  daybreak  after  twenty-four 
hours'  march,  or  packed  standing  in  trucks 
without  food,  rest  or  water,  are  modest. 
These  experiences  take  the  dross  and  desire 
to  boast  out  of  men. 

I  enjoy  studying  the  psychology  of  the 
French  mind,  which  was  apparently  sobered 
beyond  recovery,  but  Germany's  peace  offer 
has  sent  a  thrill  through  the  nation  like  a 
powerful  stimulant  to  a  dying  man.  To 
watch  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  public's 
morale  is  fascinating.  On  every  side  peo- 
ple are  now  planning  wild  celebrations, 
when  peace  is  signed.     It  resembles  prep- 


116 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


arations  for  New  Year's  Eve.  However,  no 
one  wants  an  immediate  peace;  and  all  are 
unanimous  in  their  desire  to  continue  fight- 
ing until  Germany  is  humiliated. 

Major  J.  Tarn  McGrew,  the  American 
Liaison  Officer  attached  to  General  Gou- 
raud,  writes  that  recently  the  Germans 
captured  a  town  where  there  were  eighty- 
six  American  wounded.  Within  a  few  hours 
the  Americans  retook  the  town  and  the 
eighty-six  had  been  bayoneted.  He  saw 
this. 

Another  interesting  bit,  before  I  close,  is 
that  America's  diplomacy  and  gold  has- 
tened Bulgaria  in  signing  peace.  We  never 
declared  war  on  Bulgaria  or  Turkey,  and 
did  not  recall  our  Ambassadors,  as  they 
were  left  for  the  very  purpose  of  playing 
politics  and  diplomacy — and  they  suc- 
ceeded well. 

Devotedly, 

FE|^D. 


Orleans,  France, 
Oct.  loth, 
1918. 


117 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans^  Fravce,  Oct.  i6th,  IQ18. 


WAS  just  about  to  write  you 
about  the  epidemic  of  "Spanish 
flu,"  as  it  is  called,  when  your 
letter  of  September  27th  arrived, 
conveying  the  sad  news  of  Mrs  Smith's 
death.  This  disease  is  certainly  quick  and 
deadly  in  its  effect  and  creates  a  panic 
among  those  who  have  it,  as  they  die 
frequently  in  three  or  four  days.  My 
chauffeur  is  just  recovering.  He  was  so 
scared,  two  days  ago,  when  I  went  to  see 
him  in  the  hospital,  lest  he  die  in  France, 
that  he  was  almost  speechless.  Four  friends 
of  one  of  the  F'rench  officers  in  my  office 
dined  together  last  week,  and  now  two  are 
dead  and  buried.  The  French  seem  less 
able  to  resist  it  than  the  Americans. 

This  reminds  me  that  the  Packard  has 
been  requisitioned,  pursuant  to  a  recent  Gen- 
eral Order,  requiring  the  requisition  of  all 
American  privately-owned  cars  in  the  A.E.F. 
This  is  to  make  the  military  control  of  cars 
and  use  of  gasoline  more  rigid.  I  had 
what  is  known  as  an  X  number,  which 
means  a  privately-owned  automobile  in 
military  service,  and  was  entitled  to  use  all 
the  military  gas,  oil,  tires  and  service 
needed.     I  was  entitled  to  appear  before  the 


118 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


requisition  board  at  Bourges,  but  was  too 
busy  to  go,  so  left  the  price  to  their  discre- 
tion. Their  word  is  final,  in  any  case,  and  I 
brought  the  car  over  for  the  use  of  the 
army,  never  expecting  to  take  it  back.  I 
have  been  assigned  a  new  closed  five-passen- 
ger Dodge,  which  is  really  more  practical 
for  long  winter  trips,  so  do  not  in  the  least 
regret  the  change. 

The  ever-constant  topic  of  conversation 
is,  of  course,  the  prospects  of  peace,  with  all 
of  its  conditions  and  ramifications.  The 
most  superb  confidence  is  felt  in  the  ability 
of  Wilson  to  engineer  the  situation,  and 
handle  the  complex  questions  involved. 
Not  a  single  envious  breath  of  criticism 
have  I  heard.* 

He  is  the  one  man  on  whom  rests  the 
responsibility  of  safely  piloting  the  peace 
negotiations  and  exacting  humane  terms  in 
proportion  to  the  cost  of  blood  and  treasure. 
By  the  millions  of  soldiers  who  have  sacri- 
ficed their  life's  blood  he  is  regarded  with 
supreme  confidence. 

Germany  will  be  in  a  deplorable  condi- 
tion after  the  war.  It  is  a  pity  for  her  that 
they  were  not  content  with  the  rapid  com- 
mercial strides  they  were  making,  as  they 
have  lost  all  and  much  more.  The  Allied 
soldiers  who  have  paid  so  dearly  in  blood 

*Apparently  opinion  has  changed. 


Orleans,  France, 
Oct.  i6th, 
1918. 


119 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

Oct.  i6th, 

1918. 


and  hardships  will  feel  they  have  fought  in 
vain  if  the  same  terms  are  not  exacted  of 
Germany  as  she  offered  France  in  1914, 
and  which  would  have  made  her  a  vassal 
state! 

Foch,  on  the  other  hand,  stands  supreme, 
as  Joffre  formerly  did,  as  the  undisputed 
military  genius  of  the  war.  It  has  been  the 
superior  ability  of  the  French  as  strategists 
that  has  saved  them  on  numerous  occasions 
from  overwhelming  defeat,  when  outnum- 
bered and  almost  swamped  by  the  onrushing 
hordes  of  Germans  in  their  various  drives 
on  Paris.  At  the  first  battle  of  the  Marne 
and  Verdun,  the  German  High  Command 
was  clearly  out-generaled,  and  the  saving 
of  Paris  was  called  a  miracle. 

Nevertheless,  after  the  first  battle  of  the 
Marne  over  twenty  French  Generals,  who 
were  not  considered  fit  for  active  service, 
were  retired.  In  fact  there  have  been  over 
four  hundred  Limoged*  since  the  beginning 
of  the  war!  Little  wonder  that  those  re- 
maining after  such  a  strenuous  weeding 
process,  and  five  years  of  gruelling  field 
experience  have  developed  real  genii ! 

Your  devoted  son, 

FERD. 


*So  called  because  the  proceedings  are  held  at  Limoge. 


120 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans^  France,  Oct.  24th,  igiS. 

AST  evening  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  dining  with  Major  Frank 
Baker,  Q.  M.  C,  brother  of  the 
Secretary  of  War.  He  came 
from  Headquarters  at  Tours  especially  to 
see  me  about  the  requisition  of  a  factory 
needed  by  the  Chief  Quartermaster.  It 
was  a  rainy  Sunday  afternoon,  and  not 
knowing  who  it  was,  I  had  him  shown  up 
to  my  room  where  we  were  sitting  around  a 
little  log  fire,  three  of  us.  We  took  him 
in  the  Dodge  to  the  country  estate  of  some 
French  friends  for  tea,  with  whom  he  was 
delighted,  and  upon  returning  had  dinner 
at  a  most  extraordinary  little  restaurant 
down  by  the  river  front,  called  Auberge 
St.  Jacques,  where  one  enters  through  a 
real  horse  stable  past  the  horses.  It  is  like 
the  unique  places  one  reads  about,  but  never 
sees,  and  the  food  is  really  the  best  in 
Orleans.  A  Major  Clark,  from  the  Inspec- 
tor General's  Department  at  Chaumont,  who 
is  here  investigating  the  Liaison  Service, 
joined  us.  He  is  most  high  in  his  praise 
of  the  Franco-American  conditions  in  this 
Region,  and  says  he  has  visited  no  Region 
run  so  smoothly,  without  friction,  and  with 
so  little  evident  effort. 


121 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleansy  France, 

Oct.  24th, 

1918. 


A  description  of  the  Liaison  in  the  Fifth 
Region  would  be  incomplete  without  men- 
tioning such  capable  French  officers  en- 
gaged in  this  work  as  Lieutenant  Nastrog, 
in  charge  of  the  propaganda  of  "French 
Homes,"  whose  purpose  is  to  introduce 
convalescent  Americans  to  French  families, 
and  to  conduct  motor  excursions  so  as  to 
familiarize  them  with  some  of  the  historic 
and  scenic  beauties  of  France. 

Captain  Galezowski  of  the  Service  de 
Sante,  a  well-known  Parisian  specialist, 
who  works  with  the  American  Lieutenant 
May,  a  venerable  and  loyal  American  of 
Alsatian  birth,  speaking  French,  English 
and  German,  all  with  equal  fluency  and  so 
marked  an  accent  that  one  cannot  detect 
which  is  easier  for  him  to  speak,  are  doing 
most  valuable  work  in  hospitalization. 

Lieutenant  Geniest  of  the  Genie  handles  all 
American  Requisitions  of  French  property. 

Lieutenant  Mossier  has  been  delegated 
by  the  Ministry  of  War  to  our  office  to 
assist  the  French  end  of  the  U.  S.  Renting 
Requisition  and  Claims  Service. 

Lieutenant  Etienne  Jouvencel  of  the 
Intendance,  who  is  in  charge  of  all  Franco- 
American  Quartermaster  affairs,  is  a  young, 
enthusiastic  nobleman  with  real  American 
energy. 


122 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


In  addition  to  the  above  officers  are  the 
French  Missions  attached  to  the  American 
Camps  at  Gievres,  Romarantin,  Tonnerre, 
and  Ancy-le-Franc.  Particularly  promi- 
nent among  these  is  Lieutenant  Bernard  de 
Souches  at  Romarantin,  to  whose  inde- 
fatigable zeal  is  due  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  success  in  building  up  this  enormous 
aviation  construction  camp. 

Lieutenant  John  M.  Gundry,  Jr.,  Provost 
Marshal  of  Orleans,  and  Lieutenant  Henry 
Bahnsen,  Intelligence  Officer,  handle 
Regional  Liaison  Police  and  "contre  es- 
pionage" matters  in  connection  with  Lieu- 
tenant Viguerie. 

The  above  cosmopolitan  officers,  all  of 
the  Americans  speaking  French  and  most 
of  the  French  speaking  English,  who  are 
subject  to  Captain  de  Waldener's  and  my 
directions,  as  heads  of  the  Regional  Liaison 
Service,  form  a  congenial  little  circle  of  pals, 
who  keep  things  running  smoothly  and 
handle  the  multitude  of  often  knotty 
Franco-American  questions  arising  to  be 
settled. 

To  the  Chief-of-Staff,  Colonel  Delacroix, 
Intendant  Militaire  Duhamel,  and  General 
de  I'Espee,  the  greatest  appreciation  is  due 
for  their  cordial  and  helpful  attitude  toward 
Americans.  General  de  I'Espee,  whose  wife 
is  American,  devotes  the  major  portion  of 


123 


Orleans,  France, 
Oct.  24th, 
191S. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

Oct.  24th, 

191S. 


his  time  to  the  cultivation  of  friendly  rela- 
tions and  entertainment  of  American  officers. 

As  an  example  of  how  varied  is  my  work, 
on  Saturday  afternoon  at  two  o'clock,  I 
attended  the  funeral  of  a  French  officer, 
who  had  died  of  Spanish  flu  and  pneumo- 
nia, in  four  days.  As  one  of  the  pall- 
bearers 1  walked  at  one  corner  of  the 
hearse  and  carried  the  silver  cord  attached 
to  the  mantle  covering  the  casket.  We 
walked  with  the  hearse,  including  the 
family,  guard  of  honor,  officers  and  friends, 
from  the  military  hospital,  to  the  ancient 
Cathedral,  where  the  funeral  services  were 
held,  and  from  there  to  the  cemetery. 

Upon  returning,  I  stopped  at  one  of  the 
large  French  barracks,  Coligny,  which  we 
are  taking  over  for  hospital  purposes.  As 
usual,  wooden  barracks  are  being  con- 
structed in  the  court  yard  to  increase  the 
capacity.  I  had  secured  two  hundred  and 
fifty  Austrian  prisoners  of  war  (P.  G.'s  as 
they  are  called — prisonniers  de  guerre), 
mere  boys  of  sixteen  to  eighteen  years, 
from  the  French,  to  aid  in  the  work.  They 
are  meek  looking,  undersized  little  fel- 
lows, apparently  completely  subdued  and 
suffering  from  homesickness  more  than 
anything  else.  One  of  our  men  would 
be  a  match  for  about  three  of  them, 
and  could  easily  slap  him  with  his  open  hand 


124 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


and  knock  him  down.  One  could  hardly 
help  feeling  sorry  for  them,  the  victims  of  a 
crushing,  steam-roller  military  machine. 
They  surely  showed  no  signs  of  malice  and 
stood  around  in  a  daze  like  ignorant  ani- 
mals, willingly  obeying  the  jovial  southern 
negroes  bossing  the  job  and  reveling  in 
whitewash.  I  gave  them  several  sharp 
commands  in  German  to  which  they  have 
always  been  accustomed,  to  cheer  and  wake 
them  up,  and  make  them  feel  at  home,  and 
they  jumped  to  attention  and  huddled  like 
frightened  sheep. 

When  I  returned  to  my  office,  I  found  the 
commanding  officer  of  the  hospitals  and 
several  others  waiting  to  see  me  on  various 
subjects  and  remained  until  seven  o'clock.* 
Sunday  I  was  with  Major  Baker,  and  Mon- 
day I  made  a  one  hundred  and  thirty-mile 
motor  trip  to  Montoire  accompanied  by  a 
French  officer,  where  we  are  constructing 
hospital  barracks  for  twenty  thousand  beds. 

Tuesday  morning,  I  took  the  train  for 
Paris,  to  see  the  Under  Secretary  of  State 
regarding  the  subject  Major  Baker  wanted 
settled.  After  wiring  a  favorable  report  to 
the  Quartermaster  General  at  Tours,  I 
stopped  at  Prunier's  for  a  good  fish  dinner 
and  found  the  place  crowded,  with  a  long 
waiting  list  for  tables.     The  food  is  con- 


*Th£ 


hour. 


Orleans,  France, 
Oct.  24th, 
1918. 


125 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


OrUans,  France, 

Oct.  24th, 

1918. 


sidered  good  and  reasonable.  The  check 
was  twenty-one  francs,  including  ten  per 
cent  taxe-de-luxe  and  tip,  for  a  dozen 
oysters,  whole  broiled  lobster,  slice  of  roast 
beef  and  boiled  potatoes,  with  bread  but 
no  butter.  At  the  Cafe  de  Paris,  Giro's 
or  Henri's  it  would  have  been  twice  as  much. 

At  the  Casino  de  Paris,  later,  the  most 
popular  music  hall,  we  succeeded  by  chance 
in  securing  two  orchestra  seats  in  the 
thirteenth  row  for  fifteen  francs  each.  They 
are  sold  on  the  sidewalk  by  speculators 
for  twenty-five  francs  and  the  production 
rivaled  in  gorgeousness  the  Ziegfeld  Follies 
in  peace  times.  The  place  was  packed,  the 
aisles  filled  and  standing  room  banked 
fifteen  deep.  It  is  said  by  those  who  ought 
to  know  that  France,  owing  to  the  money 
poured  into  the  country  by  the  Allied 
armies,  has  maintained  a  very  considerable 
prosperity.  The  average  French  individual 
does  not  seem  to  have  suffered  financially 
enough  to  have  caused  him  to  make 
any  considerable  outward  change  in  his 
mode  of  living. 

Already  a  few  brilliant  electric  street 
lights  are  burning  on  some  of  the  boule- 
vards, and  the  nervous  strain  of  Parisians 
has  relaxed.  Those  with  a  slight  sore  throat 
or  grippe,  however,  work  up  a  burning  fever 
with  hysterical  fear  of  "la  grippe  espagnole." 


126 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris  is  a  city  of  fads,  many  of  the 
ribbon  strips  of  paper  criss-crossed  and 
fantastically  pasted  on  the  windows  in 
the  belief  that  they  would  help  save  the 
glass  from  breaking  from  the  concussion  of 
exploding  bombs,  still  remain.  Some  enter- 
prising shop  keepers  in  their  desire  to  excel 
their  competitors  in  artistic  effects  painted 
the  strips! 

Peace  celebrations  are  being  arranged  and 
the  Minister  of  War  has  ordered  ''Victory 
Reviews"  held  in  all  garrison  towns  of 
France  on  November  3rd  to  boost  the 
Fourth  Emprunt  or  Liberty  Loan.  We  have 
already,  in  America,  had  as  many  and  as 
large  Liberty  Loans  as  France.  Within  a 
week  after  peace  is  signed  Paris  will  be  as 
gay  as  ever,  and  the  year  or  so  following 
will  be  the  biggest  tourist  years  in  her 
history.  I  tried  at  three  hotels  before  I 
could  get  a  room,  the  Maurice,  Castiglione, 
and  Continental.  The  Castiglione  two  years 
ago  was  entirely  refurnished,  as  was  also 
the  Continental.  The  artistic  effects  se- 
cured by  the  French  in  remodeling  and 
redecorating  old  buildings  are  remarkable. 

It  is  an  inspiring  sight  to  see  the  long 
lines  of  captured  German  cannon,  hub  to 
hub,  lining  both  sides  of  the  Avenue  des 
Champs  Elysees  from  Place  de  la  Con- 
corde to  the  Etoile.     They  are  also  packed 


127 


Orleans,  France, 
Oct.  24th, 
1918. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

Oct.  24th, 

191S. 


in  the  Place  de  la  Concorde  almost  solid, 
all  descriptions  and  kinds,  battered,  camou- 
flaged and  shell-torn.  This  is  the  first  sign 
of  real  war  I  have  seen  in  Paris,  and  is  done 
to  help  the  sale  of  the  Victory  Loan. 

Your  devoted  son, 

FERD. 


128 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France,  Nov.  1st,  igi8. 

HE  operation  of  the  French  law 
of  ''Requisition,"  which  em- 
powers miUtary  authorities  to 
take  any  private  property 
needed,  and  which  I  am  frequently  required 
to  exercise,  is  most  interesting. 

The  proprietor  is  simply  served  with  an 
order  to  move  out.  This,  however,  is  done 
according  to  definite  regulations,  and  the 
compensation  is  later  fixed  by  a  commis- 
sion, consisting  of  an  Engineer  Officer,  who 
has  made  blue-prints  of  the  property,  two 
officers  from  the  Intendance  (Quarter  Mas- 
ter's Department)  and  two  competent  civil- 
ians chosen  by  the  officers.  The  decisions 
of  this  Board  are  always  fair  and  final,  with 
no  recourse  to  the  courts. 

"Requisition"  is  for  temporary  military 
occupancy,  and  the  property  is  returned  to 
its  owner,  restored  to  its  original  condi- 
tion, when  no  longer  needed. 

This  is  the  only  manner  in  which  private 
property  can  be  taken  for  military  pur- 
poses. For  the  construction  of  permanent 
public  improvements,  such  as  railways,  the 
Government  has  the  right  to  condemn  and 
purchase  outright.  This  is  called  "expro- 
priation,"   but    is   more    complicated    and 


129 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

Nov.  1st, 

191S. 


requires  a  process  of  law,  so  is  not  employed 
for  urgent  military  purposes. 

Affectionately,  your  devoted  son, 

FERD. 


130 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France,  Nov.  4th,  igi8. 

HEN  the  time  has  passed  for 
your  letters  to  arrive,  I  lose  en- 
thusiasm in  my  work,  as  if  some- 
thing were  lacking.  It  is  almost 
a  subconscious  feeling,  difficult  to  define; 
but  without  the  regular  approbation  of  the 
folks  at  home,  the  effort  all  seems  so  hope- 
less and  vague. 

I  was  feeling  lonely  when  your  letters 
arrived  this  Sunday  morning,  but  my  spirits 
have  steadily  risen  all  day,  in  feeling  that 
you,  although  far  away,  are  earnestly  inter- 
ested and  lovingly  awaiting  my  return.  It 
makes  the  effort  worth  while. 

The  ''Victory  Day"  reviews  of  troops 
were  cancelled  by  the  Ministry  of  War 
"owing  to  the  Spanish  influenza,"  the  real 
diplomatic  reason  probably  being  on  ac- 
count of  the  peace  pourparlers. 

The  luncheon — of  which  I  am  enclosing 
an  invitation,  place  card  and  menu — ^was 
given  any  way.  General  de  I'Espee  said,  in 
his  after-luncheon  toast,  which  was  made 
in  both  French  and  English,  that  it  would 
be  a  calamity  to  have  a  premature  peace 
before  Germany  is  crushed  beyond  ever 
regaining  her  power  He  said,  calmly,  but 
with  powerful  conviction,  that  after  the  war 


131 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

Nov.  4th, 

1918. 


of  arms,  an  economic  war  must  be  waged, 
and  bitter  hatred  instilled  into  our  children's 
hearts. 

I  sat  at  table  with  six  generals,  four  French 
and  two  American,  nineteen  in  all.  One  of  the 
generals  pleasantlyinquired  why  I  didn't  have 
more  rank,  and  I  replied  that  my  gold  bars 
"must  be  soldered  on."  He  volunteered  to 
take  the  matter  up  and  see  what  could  be 
done.  Nothing  has  come  of  my  recommen- 
dation for  promotion  several  months  ago. 

I  have  returned  from  a  two-days'  trip 
with  a  French  officer,  Lieutenant  Mossier, 
calling  on  the  Prefer,  French  Mayors,  and 
American  Town  Majors,  advising  them 
how  civilian  claims  against  the  American 
Army,  for  private  property  stolen  or  dam- 
aged, must  be  handled — not  exaggerated, 
and  forwarded  to  the  Renting,  Requisition 
and  Claims  Service  at  Tours.  There  are  R. 
R.  &  C.  officers  for  this  work  but  I  am  always 
careful  to  see  that  all  Franco-American 
business  in  the  Region  functions  well. 

There  are  thousands  of  claims  pouring  in, 
for  every  imaginable  kind  of  loss,  amount- 
ing to  millions  of  dollars,  which  means  a 
great  harvest  for  the  F'rench  fortunate 
enough  to  have  had  anything  damaged  by 
the  Americans.  Claims  are  frequently  based 
on  sentimental  values,  somewhat  similar  to 
the  following:    A  passing  American  truck 


132 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


shook  out  a  window  pane,  which  fell  and 
cut  the  dog,  which  knocked  over  an  antique 
table,  originally  belonging  to  the  great- 
grandfather, therefore  having  great  histori- 
cal and  sentimental  value;  and,  therefore, 
the  claim  for  the  broken  window  pane  is  one 
hundred  francs.  One  director  of  a  Haras 
(governmental  stud  stables)  had  his  chil- 
dren's pet  white  donkey  killed  by  a  side- 
car. The  donkey  had  been  brought  from 
Algiers  when  small,  and  raised,  so  they  had 
great  affection  for  it,  and  it  would  require 
a  thousand  francs  to  soothe  their  feelings 
and  replace  the  donkey.  The  director  has 
since  died,  while  the  claim  is  awaiting 
adjustment.  Claims  are  also  made  for 
stolen  bottles  of  beer,  or  grapes  picked  from 
vineyards  by  passing  soldiers. 

Nothing  is  too  small  to  overlook  claiming 
for,  and  exaggerating  the  amount.  I  don't 
know  if  the  R.  R.  &  C.  officers  will  ever  get 
home  after  the  war.  But  our  liberal  pol- 
icy is  to  pay  for  anything  having  the 
slightest  indication  of  justice,  in  order  to 
pecuniarily  satisfy  and  maintain  the  amia- 
ble feelingfe  of  the  people  for  whom  our  boys 
are  ungrudgingly  pouring  out  their  life's 
blood  and  drenching  the  fields  of  France. 

Lots  of  love  to  you  all  from  your  devoted 
son, 

FERD. 


Orleans,  France, 
Nov.  4th, 
1918. 


133 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France,  Nov.  14th,  IQ18. 

EACE  has  come  so  unexpectedly 
that  those  who  should  know — 
despite  the  claims  to  the  con- 
trary, of  those  regularly  prog- 
nosticating for  the  past  four  years — that  we 
are  in  a  daze. 

Events  have  happened  during  the  past 
week  with  such  lightning-like  rapidity,  and 
the  issues  involved  are  of  such  magnitude 
that  our  minds  have  been  in  a  whirl.  It  is 
almost  too  much  for  our  mere  human  minds 
to  comprehend  in  a  few  short  hours  that 
this  strain  of  the  past  year  and  a  half  has 
abruptly  snapped.  It  leaves  a  blank,  vague 
feeling.  We  devour  the  one-sheet  news- 
papers and  telegraphic  communiques  as  if 
in  a  dream.  "There  must  be  a  catch  some- 
where." This  feeling  is  so  strong  that  there 
is  an  impulse  to  go  on — on — on ! 

The  peace  to  follow  will  impose  such 
drastic  terms  the  Germans  cannot  recover 
in  generations.  Germany  is  doomed,  as 
none  can  realize  without  knowing  the 
French. 

The  armistice  was  sudden,  because  those 
here  were  firmly  resolved  to  continue  an- 
other three  to  six  months.  Determination 
to  go  on  to  complete  victory  was  so  strong 


134 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


that  Americans,  especially,  did  not  permit 
themselves  to  entertain  will-o'-the-wisp 
peace  hopes. 

For  two  days  and  nights  the  people  and 
soldiers  have  given  themselves  up  to  fren- 
zied celebrations — every  one  in  their  mad 
delight  trying  to  outdo  the  others  in  casting 
aside  the  mantle  of  gloom  and  depression 
which  has  so  long  hung  over  this  depressed 
nation. 

Paris  is  more  crowded  and  jammed  than 
ever.  Rooms  in  hotels,  and  almost  all  tables 
in  the  restaurants,  must  be  engaged  days 
in  advance. 

Now  that  the  armistice  has  been  signed, 
I  can  describe  some  of  the  activities  in  the 
Fifth  Region. 

At  Romarantin  is  the  great  aviation  con- 
struction camp  where  all  American  planes 
are  assembled.  There  are  miles  of  enor- 
mous steel  buildings  and  fifteen  thousand 
Americans. 

At  Gievres,  adjoining,  is  the  Great 
Quartermaster  Depot  where  one  thousand 
seven  hundred  freight  cars  per  day  are 
handled  in  and  out.  There  are  over  four 
hundred  miles  of  switch  tracks,  one  of  the 
largest  refrigerating  plants  in  the  world, 
where  two  thousand  tons  of  meat  can  be 
received  and  shipped  daily,  and  twenty-five 
thousand  Americans  are  employed.  Gievres 


Orleans,  France, 
Nov.  14th, 
1918. 


135 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

Nov.  14th, 

1918 


and  Romarantin  camps  occupy  a  strip  of 
land  eight  by  four  miles  in  area,  and  these 
plants  have  risen  out  of  the  bare  farm  land 
as  if  by  magic.  They  are  the  wonders  of 
military  France,  as  are  some  of  our  other 
various  engineering,  dock,  railroad,  and 
transportation  remarkableaccomplishments. 

At  Montargis  was  the  Headquarters  for 
requisitioning  the  five  thousand  houses. 

At  St.  Aignan  is  the  First  Replacement 
Depot  Division  of  thirty  thousand. 

At  Tonnerre  and  Ancy-le-Franc  and 
surrounding  towns  were  two  training  divi- 
sions. 

At  Montoire  a  twenty  thousand-bed 
hospital  camp   is  under  construction. 

At  Orleans  is  a  three  thousand-bed 
hospital. 

Besides  four  enormous  French  garrisons 
and  the  French  salvage  plants  employing 
seven  thousand,  mostly  women,  where 
clothing  and  equipment  of  every  imaginable 
description  is  received  in  trainloads  from 
the  front  and  remade  to  look  like  new. 

At  Blois  is  the  Officers'  Casual  Camp. 

At  Seguerny  and  a  half  dozen  surround- 
ing towns  is  the  First  Signal  Corps  Depot. 

And  at  twenty-five  other  places  in  the 
ten  thousand  square  miles  of  the  Region 
are  hospitals,  veterinary  hospitals,  signal 
corps,  foresters  and  detachments  of  every 


136 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


kind,  all  of  which  must  be  visited  in  order 
to  settle  local  disputes  which  have  grown 
beyond  their  ability,  experience  or  authority 
to  handle,  and  in  all,  amounting  to  over 
one  hundred  thousand  troops. 

Lots  of  love  to  all  from 

FERD. 


Orleans,  France 

Nov.  14th, 
1918. 


137 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


OrleanSy  France^  Nov.  26thy  igi8. 


HAVE  just  been  playing  "Some 
Day  Waiting  Will  Cease,"  and 
^  it  affects  me  the  same  as  you. 
Your  popular  music  has  arrived 
at  a  moment  most  opportune.  You  scarcely 
can  realize  what  it  means  to  us,  the  war 
ending  as  abruptly  as  it  began.  Life  had 
become  bereft  of  all  that  was  sentimental, 
beautiful  and  happy,  and  was  one  long, 
barren  waste  of  destruction.  Now  the  most 
dazzling  sunshine  suddenly  bursts  forth  in 
all  its  resplendent  glory,  like  peace  and  calm 
after  a  mighty  tempest,  which  mocks  the 
insignificance  of  puny  human  strength. 

But  the  air  is  not  entirely  purified.  There 
are  still  distant  rumblings  of  bitterness  and 
hate  from  Germany,  who  does  not  will- 
ingly bow  to  the  fact  that  they  are  a  people 
conquered  by  force  of  arms,  and  who,  be- 
cause their  military  power  is  crushed,  must 
descend  from  their  coveted  place  in  the  sun. 
The  Allied  military  leaders  harbor  no  hallu- 
cinations on  the  subject,  and  know  they  are 
dealing  with  a  race  which  does  not  hesitate 
to  stoop  to  the  lowest  treachery. 

The  fangs  of  the  beast  are  pulled,  but  she 
dies  hard,  and  in  her  convulsive  death-gur- 
gle there  are  many  who  believe  there  will 


138 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


still  be  fighting.  It  will  mean  going  in  with 
machine  guns.  The  French  have  been  re- 
ceived in  Alsace-Lorraine  with  the  wildest 
bursts  of  enthusiasm,  but  when  it  comes  to 
occupying  Germany  itself— and  they  realize 
they  are  under  the  iron  heel  of  which  they 
have  so  prided  themselves — it  is  doubtful 
just  how  they  will  act. 

Since  the  signing  of  the  armistice,  two 
weeks  ago,  the  weather  has  been  brilliant, 
as  if  a  sign  of  approval  from  the  Almighty. 
Paris  has  burst  forth  in  all  her  former  air  of 
gaiety,  and  never  have  I  seen  the  boulevards 
so  swarming  with  stylishly  dressed,  happy, 
beautiful  women,  like  bees  from  their  hives 
after  a  rain.  I  didn't  know  so  many 
existed,  and  fail  to  comprehend  where  the 
money  comes  from.  The  prices  of  every- 
thing are  double  or  triple  those  before  the 
war,  but  that  apparently  makes  no  differ- 
ence. I  wired  two  days  in  advance  for 
accommodations  at  the  Hotel  Castiglione, 
and  tried  in  the  following  nine:  Maurice, 
Continental,  Edward  VII,  Grand,  West- 
minster, Mirabeau,  Majestic,  Mercedes  and 
Crillon,  on  the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  where 
I,  by  chance,  thankfully  at  last  secured  a 
place  to  sleep.  This  hotel  has  since  been 
taken  for  the  American  Peace  Commission. 
The  Elysee  Palace  has  been  occupied  as 
American  army  offices  for  the  past  year. 


Orleans,  France, 
Nov.  26th, 
1918. 


139 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

Nov.  26th, 

1918. 


The  amount  of  money  spent  in  France  by 
the  AHied  armies  lias  made  her  rich.  It  is 
the  tendency  of  fighting  men  to  spend  lav- 
ishly, and  we  and  our  armies  have  received 
nothing  without  paying  for  it  dearly. 

The  boulevards  at  night  are  a  blaze  of 
light  and  never  have  I  seen  in  the  theaters, 
which  are  packed,  more  gorgeously  staged 
productions.  Uniforms  of  French  oflricers 
are  conspicuous  for  their  absence  as  they 
ravenously  seize  the  first  opportunity  when 
"on  leave"  to  wear  civilian  clothes. 

"Leaves"  for  the  French  have  been  in- 
creased from  one  to  three  weeks  in  every 
four  months,  while  ours  remain,  as  be- 
fore, one  week  for  the  same  period,  when 
one  is  fortunate  enough  to  get  it.  I  had 
one  week  last  summer,  during  the  past 
fifteen  months,  but  soon  hope  to  have 
another.  There  has  been  a  tendency  to 
comment  on  the  number  of  American  offi- 
cers on  leave  in  Paris,  but  the  poor  devils 
have  only  public  places  to  go,  such  as 
hotels,  theaters,  and  boulevards,  while  the 
Frenchmen  are  absorbed  into  their  own 
homes  all  over  France.  The  Englishmen 
return  to  their  homes  in  England. 

The  one  thing  that  seriously  lacks  is  taxi- 
cabs,  as  the  cars  are  all  old  and  worn  out,  and 
the  cabmen  must  be  paid  any  price  they 
demand  regardless  of  the  taximeter  rate. 


140 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


You  can  count  on  knitted  dresses  remain- 
ing in  style,  by  the  way,  for  some  time  to 
come,  as  most  of  France's  woolen  mills 
were  in  the  North  and  have  been  destroyed, 
but  not  the  knitting  mills.  One  Rue  de  la 
Paix  modiste  received  orders  for  seventy 
evening  gowns  the  first  seven  days  after 
the  armistice. 

As  for  my  returning  home,  it  will  be  as 
sudden  as  the  beginning  of  the  war,  sign- 
ing of  the  armistice,  or  my  departure  for 
France.  But  "Some  Day  Waiting  Will 
Cease"  and  orders  to  sail  for  America,  God's 
Country,  the  "land  of  the  free  and  the 
home  of  the  brave"  will  come. 

Lots  of  love  to  all,  from  your  devoted  son, 

FERD. 


Orleans,  France, 
Nov.  26th, 


141 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France,  Dec.  4th,  IQ18. 


i 


OW  I  do  hope  Jackie  will  be  home 
for  Christmas.  Gracious,  how 
the  time  flies!  Three  weeks,  to- 
night, before  Christmas!  Ac- 
cording to  the  "Stars  and  Stripes,"  "Dad's 
Christmas  letter"  should  have  been  written 
over  a  week  ago,  but  as  this  goes  by  French 
post,*  it  will  arrive  in  time.  So  many  things 
come  driving  into  my  mind,  and  so  much  I 
feel  in  this  lonely  garrison  town,  so  far  from 
home  and  all  that  is  dear.  Life  is  so 
changed — a  year  and  a  half  away  from  love 
and  sympathy  and  the  finer  things  of  life. 
Yesterday,  General  de  I'Espee  enter- 
tained Colonel  Symmonds,  commanding  the 
great  quartermaster  camp  at  Gievres,  which 
will  be  a  model  in  the  future,  at  a  small 
informal  luncheon  for  eight.  I  attended  as 
usual. 

The  host  always  sits  at  the  side  of  the 
table — not  end — and  the  hostess,  when 
there  is  one,  on  the  opposite  side,  and  if 
there  is  no  hostess,  the  guest  of  honor 
occupies  her  place,  and  then  the  other 
guests  at  the  right  and  left  of  the  host  and 
guest  of  honor,  according  to  their  impor- 

*Because  attached  to  the  French  Army. 


142 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


tance  or  rank,  which  is  very  minutely 
followed.  I  was  at  the  side  of  Colonel 
Symmonds,  who  is  a  plain,  hard-working 
West  Pointer,  commanding  twenty-five 
thousand  men  at  the  enormous  plant  of 
Gievres.  I  know  the  Colonel  well,  having 
frequently  messed  at  his  table  at  luncheon 
on  my  many  trips  to  Gievres. 

Gievres  is  forty-five  miles  from  here,  by 
motor,  through  the  most  famous  hunting 
section  of  France,  known  as  the  Sologne. 
It  was  here  that  Frangois  I,  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  built  the  palace  of  Chambord,  in 
the  center  of  his  hunting  park,  surrounded 
by  twenty-eight  miles  of  stone  wall.  The 
stone  walls  around  these  properties  were  for 
the  purpose  of  keeping  the  game  in.  I  have 
eaten  a  lot  of  partridge  this  fall.  The  game 
is  carefully  guarded,  and  is  not  permitted 
to  be  killed  by  peasants. 

There  are  a  great  many  "maisons-de- 
chasse"— hunting  lodges— quite  pretentious, 
and  other  "properties"  and  chateaux  in 
this  section,  and,  fortunately  I  am  ac- 
quainted with  some  of  the  most  prominent, 
including  the  Capitaine  et  Baronne  Charles 
Pierrebourg,  Comtesse  de  Saint  Sauveur, 
Lieut,  et  Mme.  Serge  Andre,  Lieut.  Guy 
Arnoux,  the  well  known  illustrator,  and 
others,  who  all  have  beautiful  places  and 
with  whom  I  frequently  visited  during  the 


Orleans,  France, 
Dec.  4th, 
igi8. 


143 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

Dec.  4th, 

191S. 


summer.  They  are  most  hospitable  and 
charming  Parisians,  although  living  quietly 
in  their  country  homes  during  the  war. 
French  family  life  usually  so  difficult  for 
foreigners  to  enter,  particularly  in  the 
country,  is  delightful.  One  wealthy  widow 
with  three  daughters-in-law,  their  children 
and  other  visiting  relatives  had  a  family  of 
fifteen  children  and  ten  adults  regularly  at 
table.  The  chateau  was  amply  large  and 
not  crowded. 

I  couldn't  resist  taking  the  delighted 
children— loaded  in  the  car  like  a  jolly 
bouquet — some  almost  for  the  first  time  in 
their  young  lives,  for  a  little  spin  on  a  quiet 
part  of  the  country  road.*  I  suppose  this 
was  in  a  way  pardonable  as  I  was  cultivat- 
ing the  entente-cordiale— at  least  I  hope  the 
results  of  my  liaison  work  have  justified 
it.  My  camaraderie  and  close  friendships 
with  the  French  have  many  times  repaid 
the  time  spent — aside  from  the  charming 
associations. 

To-day  there  was  a  Staff  after-luncheon 
reception  for  a  French  Major  who  is  return- 
ing to  Paris  to  civil  life.  They  are  all 
frantic  to  get  back  to  civil  life  and  produc- 
tive occupations  after  almost  five  years  lost. 
**Five  years  older,  five  years  gone  out  of  the 

♦Gasoline  is  unprocurable  for  pleasure  purposes.  This  is  a 
great  handicap  for  people  living  in  the  country  at  some  distance 
from  the  railway  station. 


144 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


hearts  of  our  lives,"  is  what  one  hears  on  all 
sides  in  confidential  conversations. 

The  women  are  older,  five  years  of  mourn- 
ing and  sadness,  which  everyone  bitterly 
regrets  and  realizes  the  total  loss  of 
these  never-to-be-recovered  years.  "All  for 
nothing." 

To-morrow  General  de  I'Espee  receives  at 
luncheon  Major-General  Wright,  command- 
ing the  Eighty-first  Division  billetted  at 
Ancy-le-Franc,  recently  returned  from  the 
front,  at  which  I  shall  be  present.  I  am 
accompanied  now  by  my  assistant  or  aide,  a 
pleasant  young  artillery  officer  of  twenty- 
three,  from  Albany,  who  fought  at  St. 
Mihiel,  Second  Lieutenant  John  D.  W. 
Peltz.  He  was  in  the  class  of  'i8  at  Yale 
and  his  mother  was  born  in  France,  where 
he  has  lived. 

We  have  a  cosmopolitan  lot  in  the  Liaison 
Service,  about  eighty  officers — no  enlisted 
men.  They  are,  roughly,  one-third  in  the 
Regions,  one-third  with  the  chief  Liaison 
Officer  and  attached  to  the  French  minis- 
terial offices  in  Paris,  and  one-third  with 
the  armies. 

Thanksgiving  I  spent  in  Paris,  with  Cap- 
tain Baron  de  Waldener,  with  whom  I  am 
associated — a  charming  nobleman  of  forty- 
two.  I  dined  with  the  Marquise  de  Gasket 
and  afterwards  we  went  to  the  Cinema  in 


145 


Orltans,  France, 
Dec.  4th, 

IQlS. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Orleans,  France, 

Dec.  4th, 

J918. 


the  Champs  Elysees  and  saw  Mary  Pick- 
ford.  All  the  best  movies  now  are  Ameri- 
can, and  the  French  producers  think  they 
are  doing  well  when  they  spend  thirty  or 
forty  thousand  francs  on  a  film.  They  say 
American  movie  actors  are  better  than  the 
French,  because  they  are  more  animated 
and  energetic!  The  Marquise  is  a  hand- 
some, stately  widow  of  thirty-five,  whose 
husband  was  killed  two  years  ago.  He  was 
a  pal  of  De  Waldener.  De  Waldener  is 
of  an  old  Alsatian  family,  as  the  name 
implies,  and  he  expects  to  soon  return  to 
buy  back  some  of  their  properties  which 
were  disposed  of  to  the  Germans  in  '71. 

After  the  Cinema,  we  went  to  a  dance 
given  by  the  Henri  Hottinguers,  for  their 
debutante  daughter,  in  Rue  de  la  Baume. 
Mme.  de  Waldener  is  his  sister,  and  they 
are  said  to  be  the  richest  protestant  family 
in  France.*  The  house  is  a  palace  and 
two  hundred  danced  on  the  ground  floor. 

Among  others  present  were  Ambassador 
Sharpe's  daughter,  the  daughters  of  Prin- 
cess Murat,  Mile.  Hottinguer — who  has  a 
dot  of  half  a  million  francs'  income — and 
Mile,  de  I'Espee.  She  was  accompanied 
by  her  mother,  as  many  were.  There  are 
many  important  dances  to  follow,  to  which 
I    received    verbal    invitations.     American 

*M.  Hottinguer  is  at  the  head  of  the  Bank  of  France. 


146 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


officers,  for  whom  the  dance  was  said  to  be 
given,  were  in  the  predominance,  as  the 
young  French  officers  have  not  yet  returned 
from  the  front.  According  to  French  cus- 
tom, one  calls  and  leaves  cards  for  all 
ladies  to  whom  he  is  presented.  In  prepar- 
ing her  dinner  and  dance  lists,  the  hostess 
is  then  free  to  invite  whom  she  pleases. 

My  prayers  and  thoughts  are  always  with 
you,  and  I  hope  to  return  before  spring, 
some  fine  day  when  you  least  expect  it. 

Merry  Christmas  and  a  Happy  New 
Year,  and  much  love  to  you  all  from. 

Devotedly  your  son  and  brother, 

FERD. 


Orleans,  France, 
Dec.  4th, 
1918. 


147 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


U.  S.  Officers'  Combat  Replacement 
Depot 

Gondrecourt  {Meuse),  Dec.  24th,  igi8. 

FTER  receiving  orders  relieving 
me  from  further  duty  at  Or- 
leans for  return  to  the  U.  S. 
it  took  two  days  to  make  the 
official  round  of  formal  **au  revoir"  calls. 
Colonel  Delacroix,  Chief  of  Staff,  gave  a 
small  informal  farewell  luncheon  for  eight  in 
my  honor,  and  there  was  much  good  fellow- 
ship and  many  compliments  exchanged. 

This  is  Christmas  Eve,  and  my  mind  is 
thousands  of  miles  from  here.  It  is  six 
o'clock,  and  the  officers,  coming  from  sup- 
per, are  driftim-;  into  the  officers'  Y.  M.  C. 
A.  club  barracks,  dripping  with  rain,  and 
flecked  with  snow — the  first  of  the  season. 
It  has  been  dark  since  four  o'clock,  and 
supper  is  served  at  five-thirty.  By  seven 
o'clock  it  has  been  dark  for  hours,  and  one 
can  truthfully  refer  to  the  "long  winter 
evenings." 

The  camaraderie  existing  in  the  army  is 
magnificent,  and  is  the  great  compensation 
for  the  separation  from  home  and  God's 
country.  The  realization  of  this  has  been 
more  forcibly  impressed  upon  me  during 


148 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


the  past  three  days,  since  returning  to  the 
American  troops,  after  passing  eight  months 
with  the  French  Army. 

On  these  bleak,  cold,  wind  and  rain- 
swept hills,  past  which  so  recently  swept 
one  of  the  greatest  and  bloodiest  holocausts 
in  history,  is  established  in  heart  and  soul  a 
miniature  America — an  independent  Ameri- 
can barrack  city — far  removed  from  Euro- 
pean thought,  ideas  and  influences. 

The  average  American  soldier  has  little 
opportunity  for  seeing  or  knowing  anything 
about  the  French,  except  for  slight  contact 
with  the  peasants.  This  is  because  when 
he  is  not  on  the  battle  field  he  is  billetted  in 
the  miserable  peasant  villages  behind  the 
lines,  and  rarely  has  "leave"  to  travel. 

I  have  been  released  from  further  service 
with  the  Chief  Liaison  Officer,  for  return 
to  the  U.  S.,  as  my  work  is  finished,  and  I 
am  deeply  touched  at  this  sacred  time  by 
being  back  among  my  own  people.  It 
again  gives  me  a  chance  to  know  and 
fraternize  with  these  whole-hearted  Amer- 
ican characters,  honest,  magnificent  man- 
hood. This  Army  represents  the  purest 
and  finest  we  possess  in  the  American 
nation ! 

While  returning  thru  Paris  the  other 
day,  I  saw  Wilson,  Pershing  and  Bliss  pass 
on  their  return  from  the  formal  reception 


Gondrecourt 
Meuse), 
Dec.  24th, 
1918. 


149 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


GondrecouTt 

{Meuse), 

Dec.  24th, 

191S. 


given  in  Wilson's  honor  by  the  City  of 
Paris  at  the  Hotel  de  Vilie.  The  boule- 
vards were  lined  with  French  troops  and 
cavalry  to  hold  the  crowds  back  and 
render  the  guests  royal  military  honors. 
Wilson  has  a  grace  in  lifting  his  hat  which 
no  imperial  ruler  can  equal.  His  famous 
smile  and  polished  manner  immediately 
endeared  him  to  the  French  of  all  classes, 
who  call  him  Emperor.  How  they  love 
holidays  and  fetes!  In  nine  days  there 
were  six  national  holidays,  four  for  visiting 
Allied  royalty,  including  Wilson,  and  two 
Sundays. 

Several  days  later,  upon  the  arrival  of 
the  King  of  Italy,  shortly  before  the  hour, 
all  the  side  streets  leading  to  the  boule- 
vards were  black  with  tens  of  thousands 
scurrying  in  the  rain  to  see  him  pass. 

The  barrack  is  now  a  mass  of  officers 
talking,  reading  and  writing,  like  a  college 
dormitory,  with  some  one  drumming  the 
piano  at  one  end  and  the  victrola  going  at 
the  other.  The  canteen  has  been  opened, 
and  they  are  waiting  in  line  and  crowding 
around,  drinking  hot  chocolate.  Is  a  sol- 
dier's stomach  ever  filled .? 

Stoessel*  has  commenced  playing,  which 
recalls  with  a  thrill  that  it  is  Christmas  Eve. 
The  barrack  is  in  enraptured  stillness — no 

*0f  the  Boston  Symphony. 


150 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


other  indication  of  the  birth  of  Christ,  ex- 
cept a  small  tree — but  one  realizes  the 
sacredness  of  this  night  in  this  weird,  out-of- 
the-way  place  of  the  world  more  than  in 
the  turmoil  of  a  great  city. 

Your  devoted  son, 

FERD. 


Gondrecourt 
(Meuse), 
Dec.  24th, 
1918. 


151 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Nice,  France,  Jan.  5th,  IQIQ. 

ERE  I  am,  on  a  week's  leave,  in 
the  hospital  with  a  slight  case 
of  the  mumps.  Just  arrived,  with 
the  prospect  of  passing  ten  days. 
Things  happen  so  rapidly  and  unex- 
pectedly in  the  army  that  I  never  attempt 
to  forecast  the  future,  as  all  goes  by  op- 
posites.  Little  did  I  expect  to  be  a  patient 
in  a  French  Military  Hospital,  although  I 
have  visited  many  where  our  men  were  left 
in  a  dying  condition  by  passing  American 
hospital  trains. 

The  last  week  at  Orleans,  I  completed  a 
three  hundred  and  fifty-mile  tour  of  inspec- 
tion, including  French  hospitals,  by  auto. 
Our  men  were  lonely,  as  might  be  expected, 
and  condemn  the  hospitals  as  dirty  and 
unsanitary.  The  French  haven't  the  money 
to  do  things  in  the  lavish  American  manner, 
and  the  doctors  are  tired  after  five  years  of 
incessant  grind.  It  is  the  doctors  who 
have  done  the  most  tedious  work,  and  that 
of  the  French  doctors  has  been  monumental ! 
One  can  comprehend  only  in  a  vague  way 
what  the  hospitalization  for  an  army  of 
four  millions*  means,  unless  he  has  ac- 
tually seen.    French  trained  nurses  are  not 

♦French  Army. 


152 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


as  high  a  class  of  women  as  nurses  in 
America,  and  are  not  as  well  respected. 
However,  there  are  usually  a  few  local 
ladies  nursing  in  the  Benevole  or  Charity 
Red  Cross  Hospitals,  and  one  can  invariably 
distinguish  them. 

It  is  like  a  breath  of  fresh  air  to  meet  and 
talk  with  these  cheerful,  charming,  serious- 
minded  girls,  doing  a  work  of  mercy.  It  is 
not  a  fad  or  fancy,  but  after  all  these  years 
of  suffering  they  take  it  as  naturally  as  if  it 
were  all  that  is  to  be  expected  in  life.  They 
have  usually  lost  some  one  of  their  imme- 
diate family — brother  or  fiance.  It  has 
been  the  old,  retired  and  rich  families  living 
on  their  "rentes"  which  have  lost  most  by 
the  war.  Their  fortunes  have  been  ma- 
terially reduced,  while  the  high  cost  of  liv- 
ing has  doubled  and  tripled.  It  has  been 
the  storekeepers  and  working  classes  who 
have  profited  by  greatly  increased  wages 
and  increased  business.  Soldiers  certainly 
spend  money  like  the  proverbial  ''drunken 
sailor." 

Prices  of  rooms  and  meals  are  posted 
in  all  hotels  and  restaurants,  as  required 
by  law,  to  prevent  extortion,  as  sentiment 
has  not  stood  in  the  way  of  avaricious 
tradespeople  exploiting  American  generos- 
ity— especially  in  regions  not  suffering  from 
the  invader.     I  regret  to  say  that  the  aver- 


153 


Nice,  France, 
Jan.  5th, 
1919. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Nice,  France, 
Jan.  5th, 


age  American,  for  this  and  sundry  other  rea- 
sons, has  not  a  high  opinion  of  the  French, 
and  their  one  desire  is  to  finish  the  job  and 
return  home.  The  French  Government,  on 
the  other  hand,  has  carried  on  a  well-organ- 
ized propaganda,  called  ''French  Homes," 
to  systematically  introduce  Americans  into 
French  families.  About  ten  thousand 
French  girls  are  said  to  have  married 
Americans. 

It  seems  that  Europe  is  determined  to 
maintain  the  same  standard  of  living  as  be- 
fore the  war,  despite  the  doubled  cost,  and 
the  bulk  of  the  men  having  earned  nothing 
for  so  long.  The  idea  seems  to  be  to  spend 
money  as  long  as  it  lasts. 

This  contagious  hospital  is  a  lonely  place, 
an  amusement  ice-skating  palace  in  a 
beautiful  park  in  the  suburbs  of  Nice, 
partitioned  into  small  rooms  called  "boxes,'* 
without  ceilings.  All  that  is  separating  me 
from  the  spinal-meningitis  on  one  side  and 
a  case  of  diphtheria  on  the  other  are  light 
seven-foot  pine  partitions! 

I  have  a  Brazilian  army  doctor;  there 
were  three  hundred  of  them  sent  over  for 
service  with  the  French  Army.  Evidently 
the  love  and  sympathy  of  the  entire  world 
went  forth  to  aid  stricken  France  in  her 
dire  distress. 


154 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Next  Day — ^Tuesday.  Well,  the  novel 
experiences  of  a  soldier  are  many.  I  had 
to  jump  out  of  the  bed  and  pull  it  across 
the  concrete  floor  out  of  the  heavy  shower 
that  leaked  through  the  roof  during  a 
torrential  rain.  Luckily  I  wasn't  very  sick 
or  minus  a  leg.  My  nurse  has  only  four- 
teen patients ;  formerly  she  had  thirty-four ! 

Major  Willard  D.  Straight,  my  former 
beloved  chief  in  the  War  Risk  Bureau,  has 
died  of  pneumonia.  He  had  a  brilliant 
career  for  a  man  of  forty. 

The  number  of  people  who  have  died, 
owing  to  overwork  and  reduced  powers  of 
resistance  and  a  treacherous  climate,  is 
shocking.  I  really  never  realized  what  a 
damnable  climate  this  is.  Half  the  bat- 
tle country  is  under  water  from  almost 
incessant  rains  during  the  past  four  months. 
The  clouds  raised  for  only  a  week  when 
the  armistice  was  signed,  as  if  a  Divine 
token  of  approval  from  the  Almighty. 

At  last  the  warm,  balmy  and  caressing 
sunshine  of  beautiful  Nice  makes  the  con- 
valescents want  to  bask  forever  and  look 
out  on  the  clear  blue  Mediterranean  and 
wonder  what  it  all  means ! 

Lots  of  love  to  you  all,  from 

FERD. 


^iV^,  France, 
Jan.  5th, 
191Q. 


155 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


m 


Paris y  France,  Jan.  20th,  IQIQ. 

FIND  that  some  of  the  French 
customs  are  quaint  and  cer- 
tainly opposite  to  our  own, 
for  example: 
It  is  not  ''etiquette"  to  wait  until  all  at 
table  are  served  before  one  starts  eating, 
each  commencing  as  soon  as  he  is  served, 
thereby  avoiding  an  awkward  pause.  If 
one  is  timid  about  this  he  is  apt  to  delay 
the  service  or  go  hungry,  for  the  plates  are 
removed  rapidly  as  the  courses  are  finished, 
which  makes  the  service  almost  continuous 
and  certainly  quicker  and  more  satisfactory, 
especially  when  the  meal  is  divided  into 
many  courses,  as  is  customary. 

Forks  are  always  placed  with  the  prongs 

pointing  down,  and  knives  and  forks  are 

criss-crossed   on   the   plate — prongs  down! 

Neatly  written  menus  are  placed  on  the 

table  in  private  homes,  at  formal  luncheons 

or  dinners  and  frequently  informal  ones, 

and    are    carefully   read   by   the   guests, — 

evidencing  a  polite  interest  on  their  part. 

The  above  usages  appear  unimportant, 

but  are  equally  as  rigid  as  our  own,  and 

their  infraction  regarded  equally  as  ill-bred. 

Even  in  the  best  homes,  fruit  such  as 

large  apples  and  pears,  is  generally  cut  in 


156 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


half  before  being  "passed,"  which  is  surely- 
more  practicable  than  our  own  extravagant 
method. 

Coffee  with  hot  milk  is  served  in  the 
morning  in  a  large  hozvl,  similar  to  a  porridge 
bowl,  using  a  table-spoon  instead  of  a  tea- 
spoon. 

In  the  Bordeaux  district,  the  ancient 
peasant  custom  was  to  drink  white  wine 
for  breakfast  instead  of  coffee  as  it  is  the 
product  of  the  country,  and  naturally  more 
easily  obtainable  and  cheaper. 

One  not  desiring  coffee  after  a  meal  is  at 
liberty  to  ask  for  a  cup  of  tilleul,  a  fashion- 
able and  mild  hot  beverage  slightly  digestive 
and  laxative  in  effect.  This  is  a  tea  and  is 
made  from  dried  linden  blossoms;  it  also 
acts  as  a  sedative  inducing  sleep  and  is 
altogether  a  very  pleasing  beverage,  taken 
after  dinner. 

The  French  always  sleep  with  the  win- 
dows, iron  shutters,  and  draperies  tightly 
closed  even  in  the  Summer,  owing  to  their 
abject  fear  of  night  air.  The  American 
method  of  sleeping  with  outside  ventilation 
is  regarded  as  suicidal,  and  when  the  maid 
enters  one's  room  in  the  morning  in  private 
hom.es  and  finds  the  Vv^indows  open,  it  is 
usually  the  cause  of  ejaculations  and  aston- 
ishment, and  kind  advice  that  one  must  not  do 
it.     Their  increased  health  since  sleeping  in 


Paris,  France, 
Jan.  20th, 
1919. 


157 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Paris,  France, 
Jan.  20th, 


the  trenches  does  not  seem  to  have  altered 
their  views  on  ventilation. 

A  young  U.  S.  Army  engineer  who  as 
a  civiHan  had  worked  on  the  ventilation 
problem  of  the  New  York  subway,  said: 
"I  expected,  when  I  came  to  France,  I 
might  get  some  new  ideas  on  street  car 
ventilation,  but  found  they  had  solved 
the  problem  simply  by  shutting  the  cars  up 
tight  and  having  none!" 

While  talking  with  a  Baroness  and 
Countess,  I  received  some  startling  infor- 
mation on  ^'marriage  contracts."  It  ap- 
pears there  are  two  laws  under  which  the 
marriage  contract,  which  is  obligatory,  can 
be  drawn.  The  old  law  provides  for  the 
wife's  dowry  becoming  the  property  out- 
right of  her  husband  on  the  wedding  day, 
and  the  other  for  her  to  retain  an  interest! 
One  of  these  beautiful  heiresses,  who  had 
married  a  poor  nobleman,  told  me  that  she 
would  have  regarded  it  as  an  insult  to  her 
husband  if  she  had  married  him  under  any 
but  the  old  law!  The  other,  who  had  mar- 
ried a  poor  nobleman,  said:  *T  brought  my 
husband  a  yearly  income  of  fifty  thousand 
francs  under  the  old  law,  from  which  he 
gave  me  one  hundred  francs  per  month 
spending  money,  and  I  was  content!'* 
These  were  both  clever,  charming  women 
from   the   rich   bourgeoisie   class  who  had 


158 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


married    titles.     These    are    not    isolated 
cases. 

There  is  another  law  for  tradespeople, 
under  which  the  husband  and  wife  can 
become  legal  business  partners,  sharing 
the  profits  like  any  two  partners  owning  a 
joint  interest. 

Ordinarily  the  interest  from  a  girl's 
dowry  is  supposed  to  equal  about  one- 
fifth  of  her  husband's  earning  power.  And 
girls  very  rarely  can  get  married  without  a 
dowry,  even  among  the  poorest  classes, 
who  formerly  frequently  dispensed  with  a 
ceremony  owing  to  the  complicated  pro- 
cedure, legal  formality  and  attendant  cost. 
The  laws  have  fortunately  recently  been 
modified  somewhat  in  this  respect. 

Dowries  are  small  formalities  which 
were  dispensed  with  by  our  American  boys 
when  bringing  home  French  brides! 

After  they  become  twenty-five,  the  girls 
"marry  Ste.  Catherine,"  and  Ste.  Catherine's 
Day  (April  30th)  is  a  festive  occasion 
when  the  shop  girls  wear  flowers,  fancy 
hats  and  ribbons  and  have  a  jolly  time  all 
day  in  the  streets  according  to  French 
fashion. 

As  ever  your  son, 

FERD. 


159 


Paris,  France, 
Jan.  20th, 
1919. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Gondrecourt,  France,  Jan.  30th,  IQIQ. 

HE  bottom  has  dropped  out  and 

everybody    is    clamoring    to    get 

home.     There    was    a    scramble 

to  get  on  the  Peace  Commission, 

but  this  has  died  down. 

It  is  sad  to  see  the  machinery  of  the 
Liaison  Service,  about  which  v.e  were  all  so 
enthusiastic  during  the  exciting  times  of  last 
summer,  disintegrating  and  going  to  pieces. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Harjes  who  has  gone 
to  Monte  Carlo  with  his  family,  has  never 
returned  to  the  office  since  the  motor  ac- 
cident of  last  August  when  his  hip  was 
broken,  but  has  continued  to  direct  the 
Service  thru  Captain  Phil  Livermore, 
Deputy  Chief  Liaison  Officer. 

With  a  slight  stretch  of  the  imagination, 
one  could  believe  this  a  stag  winter  country- 
house  party,  or  Muldoon's  family  training 
camp  for  obese  gentlemen;  only  these  are 
young  and  brimming  with  the  effervescent 
spirits  of  health  and  youth,  and  already 
"fit." 

After  an  easy  day  of  several  lectures  on 
military  subjects,  and  a  long  hike  over  hard, 
frozen  country  roads,  and  five-thirty  o'clock 
supper,  they  lounge,  read,  talk  and  smoke 
until  an  early  bed-hour. 


160 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


There  is  plenty  of  amateur  musical  talent 
and  movies.  An  officer  at  present  is  play- 
ing the  piano,  surrounded  by  an  admiring 
group,  among  whom  are  several  good  voices. 

This  is  almost  an  Elysian  picture,  but 
when  you  get  this  many  American  youths 
together,  no  matter  in  what  remote  part  of 
the  world,  their  indomitable  Americanism 
is  bound  to  come  to  the  surface.  All  fret 
and  are  anxious  to  return  to  their  organiza- 
tions, most  of  which  are  in  Germany,  and 
also  have  a  vague,  dim  longing  to  return 
home.  But  this  is  suppressed,  largely  for 
the  practical  reason  that  they  will  have  to 
seek  work  when  they  leave  the  army. 
Many  feel,  now  that  the  arduous  fight- 
ing period  has  passed,  like  enjoying  a 
well-earned  respite;  however,  a  profound 
yearning  for  home  secretly  exists  deep  in 
every  heart. 

As  the  evening's  movies  in  the  ''Audi- 
torium," or  adjoining  barracks,  were  just 
announced,  and  there  was  a  concerted 
movement  in  that  direction,  including  the 
ragtime  officer  at  the  piano,  his  place  was 
taken  by  one  more  sentimentally  inclined, 
who  is  exquisitely  playing  'The  End  of  a 
Perfect  Day."  Now,  half  an  hour  later,  the 
movie  crowd  is  back  again  in  full  possession 
of  the  piano.  While  serious-minded,  they 
are  with  their  pent-up  dynamic  force  like  a 


161 


Gondrecourt, 
France, 
Jan.  3uth, 
igiQ. 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Gondrecourt, 

France, 

Jan.  30th, 

1919. 


pack  of  eager  young  hounds.  These  are 
some  of  the  men  who  from  quiet  civilian 
life,  with  little  military  training,  were 
thrown  in  at  Chateau-Thierry,  with  orders 
to  stop,  regardless  of  sacrifice  of  life — which 
the  French  had  learned  to  so  carefully 
preserve — the  ferocious  drive  which  the 
Germans  had  intended  should  end  the  war 
by  crushing  France. 


As  ever  your  son, 


FERD. 


162 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Nancy,  France,  Feb.  ^th,  iQiQ. 

IMPROVED  the  opportunity 
to  come  via  Nancy,  which  is  on 
the  Alsatian  frontier,  and  was 
astonished  to  find  a  large, 
flourishing  city,  with  more  happy  faces 
than  I  have  seen  previously.  It  appears 
more  German  than  French,  and  the  peo- 
ple have  such  round,  pleasant  German 
faces  that  one  is  startled  when  they  speak 
French. 

It  isn't  correct  to  say  they  are  German, 
nor  French,  for  they  are  Alsatian.  In 
the  newer  sections,  the  houses  are  mod- 
ern German  in  architecture.  There  is  a 
marked  difference  between  this  hybrid  city 
and  the  old  French  town  of  Orleans,  where 
French  is  found  in  its  purest. 

One  wonders  why  Rheims  was  pulverized 
and  this  large  city  at  the  front  remains  al- 
most untouched.  There  were  dozens  of 
houses  blown  up  by  aerial  bombs,  but  the 
city  is  still  intact.  The  simple  reason  is 
that  it  was  regarded  as  future  German  prop- 
erty, and  was,  therefore,  spared  the  fate  of 
others  less  fortunate.  The  public  markets 
were  filled  with  good  food,  at  high  prices, 
but  not  higher  than  at  home.  The  finest 
frozen    beef  was    shown,    so    marked,    for 


163 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Nancy,  France, 

Feb.  5th, 

1919. 


previous  to  the  war  frozen  meat  had  no 
market  in  France,  and  there  were  poor  re- 
frigerating facihties,  and  almost  no  refrig- 
erator cars.  Each  city  has  its  own  slaughter 
plants.  However,  the  French  have  over- 
come their  prejudice,  and  learned  to  appre- 
ciate American  frozen  beef. 

Chateau-Thierry,  Epernay,  Bar-le-Duc, 
and  all  the  others  of  dozens  of  destroyed 
towns  one  passes  in  the  Marne  Valley  are 
desolate  looking  shell-torn  sights.  There 
is  nothing  interesting  except  to  satisfy  a 
morbid  curiosity  in  seeing  the  mangled 
remains  of  these  once  pleasant  villages. 
At  Chateau-Thierry  the  thrifty  tradespeople 
are  already  beginning  to  prepare,  in  a  feeble 
way,  for  tourists  who  are  commencing  to 
come  in  the  shape  of  a  few  Americans 
"on  leave." 

Michelin  is  publishing  elaborate  guide- 
books on  the  entire  battle  country,  which 
are  standard  and  will  supersede  the  Ger- 
man Baedeker. 

There  are  over  one  million  eight  hundred 
thousand  applications  on  file  at  Washington 
for  tourist  passports,  just  think  of  it! 


Lots  of  love,  from 


FERD. 


164 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


U.  S.  Casual  Officers'  Camp 
AiigerSy  France,  Feb.  loth,  IQIQ. 


JMT 


ERE  I  am,  finally  en  route  to 
America,  and  to-morrow  leave 
for  Bordeaux. 

I  am  fortunate  in  being  quar- 
tered in  the  new  French  artillery  barracks, 
called  the  "Caserne  Languoise."  However, 
there  are  as  yet  no  modern  conveniences, 
such  as  electric  lights  and  running  water, 
and  I  am  writing  by  the  light  of  a  candle. 
It  is  bitterly  cold — five  degrees  above  zero 
Fahrenheit — to  wash  out-of-doors  in  a  gale. 

Angers  is  a  most  interesting  old  city  of 
eighty  thousand,  on  the  Loire,  and  was  a 
most  pleasant  surprise  in  this  respect,  as 
one  hears  so  little  of  it.  The  Loire  Valley 
was  the  historical  medieval  center  of  France. 
Orleans,  Tours,  Blois,  Angers,  and  Nantes 
are  all  on  this  most  picturesque  of  rivers, 
which  was  first  occupied  by  the  Romans, 
and  since  has  played  so  important  a  part  in 
French  history. 

Several  of  my  French  friends  have  raised 
such  a  friendly  protest  at  my  returning  to 
America  so  soon  that  I  was  compelled  to 
say  that  it  was  only  in  order  to  be  de- 
mobilized and  that  I  would  return  in  the 


165 


LETTERS    FROM    A    LIAISON    OFFICER 


Angers,  France, 
Feb.  JOth, 

IQIQ. 


Spring!  It  is  with  a  certain  keen  regret 
that  I  am  leaving  France  and  these  hos- 
pitable friends,  and  the  stirring  scenes  that 
have  become  so  indelibly  woven  into  these 
never-to-be-forgotten  years,  which  have 
for  all  of  us,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  left 
their  imprints  on  our  characters  and  lives. 
However,  you  k7wzv  I  am  at  the  same 
time  fervently  hoping  to  again  be  with  you 
and  at  home  almost  as  soon  as  this  letter 
arrives,  and  am,  as  ever, 

Your  devoted  son, 

FERD. 


166 


This  copy  of  "Letters  from  a  Liaison 
Officer"  is  one  of  a  private  edition  of  four 
hundred  copies,  hand  bound,  designed  and 
printed  at  the  press  of  George  F.  McKiernan 
&  Company,  in  Chicago,  in  the  fifth  month, 
MCMXIX. 


I 


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